,  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN: 


WAS     HE    A     CHRISTIAN? 


By    JOHN    B.   RBJFLSBVRG. 


"  I  am  not  a  Christian."  —  LINCOLN. 


NEW  YORK: 

THE  TRUTH  SEEKER  COMPANY, 
28  LAFAYETTE  PLACE. 


Copyrighted,   1893, 

af 
THE  TRUTH  SEEKER  COMPANY 


TO   THE    FRIENDS 
OF 

ABRAHAM   LINCOLN 

WHO  HATE  HAD  THE  COURAGE  TO  AFFIRM 

THE  TRUE  AND  DENY  THE  FALSE; 

AND 

TO   THE    FRIENDS 
OF 

TRUTH 

WHO   WILL   HAVE   THE   HONESTY   TO   REJECT 

THE   FALSE   AND   ACCEPT  THE   TRUE, 

THIS  VOLUME    IS  INSCRIBED 

BY  THE   AUTHOR. 


PREFACE. 


ALMOST  immediately  after  the  remains  of  America's 
most  illustrious  son  were  laid  to  rest  at  Springfield, 
one  of  his  biographers  put  forward  the  claim  that  he 
was  a  devout  believer  in  Christianity.  The  claim 
was  promptly  denied  by  the  dead  statesman's  friends, 
but  only  to  be  renewed  again,  and  again  denied.  And 
thus  for  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  question  of  Abra 
ham  Lincoln's  religious  belief  has  been  tosser1  like  a 
battledoor  from  side  to  side. 

As  a  result  of  this  controversy,  thousands  have 
become  interested  in  a  subject  that  otherwise  might 
have  excited  but  little  interest.  This  is  the  writer's 
apology  for  collecting  the  testimony  of  more  than 
one  hundred  witnesses,  and  devoting  more  than  three 
hundred  pages  to  the  question,  "  Was  Lincoln  a 
Christian  ?  " 

About  few  other  men  has  so  much  been  written  as 
about  Abraham  Lincoln  ;  while  no  other  American's 
life  has  engaged  the  pens  of  so  many  biographers. 
A  thousand  volumes  record  his  name  and  refer  to 


VI  PREFACE. 

his  deeds.  In  a  hundred  of  these  he  is  the  central 
figure.  Nearly  a  score  of  elaborate  biographies  of 
him  have  been  written.  As  many  more  books  per 
taining  wholly  to  liis  life,  his  martyrdom,  and  his 
character  have  been  published.  Of  the  many  works 
on  Lincoln  which  the  writer  has  consulted  in  the 
preparation  of  this  volume,  the  following  deserve  to 
be  mentioned  :  Nicolay  and  Hay's  "  Life  of  Lincoln," 
Herndon  and  Weik's  "  Life  of  Lincoln,"  Lamon's 
"Life  of  Lincoln,"  Holland's  "Life  of  Lincoln," 
Arnold's  "Life  of  Lincoln,"  Raymond's  "Life  of 
Lincoln,"  Stoddard's  "  Life  of  Lincoln,"  Barrett's 
"Life  of  Lincoln,"  "  Every-Day  Life  of  Lincoln," 
Arnold's  "Lincoln  and  Slavery,"  Carpenter's  "  Six 
Months  at  the  White  House  with  Lincoln,"  "  Remi 
niscences  of  Lincoln,"  "Anecdotes  of  Lincoln," 
"  Lincolniana,"  "The  President's  Words,"  "The 
Martyr's  Monument,"  "  Tribute  of  the  Nations  to 
Lincoln,"  "Lincoln  Memorial  "  and  "Lincoln  Me 
morial  Album." 

The  testimony  concerning  Lincoln's  religious 
belief  presented  in  this  volume  has  been  derived 
chiefly  from  three  sources.  1.  A  part  of  it  has  been 
gathered  from  the  works  above  named.  In  a  single 
volume  is  published  for  the  first  time  matter  which 
heretofore  was  only  to  be  found  scattered  through 
numerous  volumes,  some  of  them  inaccessible  to 
the  general  reader.  2.  A  considerable  portion  of  it 


PREFACE.  Vll 

has  been  gleaned  from  newspapers  and  periodicals 
containing  statements  brought  out  by  this  contro 
versy,  mauv  of  which  would  otherwise  soon  be  lost 
or  forgotten.  3.  A  very  large  share  of  it  has  been 
obtained  by  the  writer  from  personal  friends  of  Lin 
coln  ;  and  when  we  realize  how  rapidly  those  who 
lived  and  moved  with  him  are  passing  away — that 
erelong  none  of  them  Avill  remain  to  testify — the  im 
portance  of  this  evidence  can  hardly  be  overestimated. 

The  writer  believes  that  he  has  fully  established 
the  negative  of  the  proposition  that  forms  the  title 
of  his  book.  He  does  not  expect  to  silence  the 
claims  of  the  affirmative  ;  but  he  has  furnished  an 
arsenal  of  facts  whereby  these  claims  may  be  ex 
posed  and  refuted  as  often  as  made. 

This  effort  to  prove  that  Lincoln  was  not  a  Chris 
tian  will  be  condemned  by  many  as  an  attempt  to 
fasten  a  stain  upon  this  great  man's  character.  But 
the  demonstration  and  perpetuation  of  this  fact  will 
only  add  to  his  greatness.  It  will  show  that  he 
was  in  advance  of  his  generation^  The  fame  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  belongs  not  to  this  age  alone,  but 
will  endure  for  all  time.  K  The  popular  faith  is  tran 
sient  and  must  perish,  jit  is  unpopular  now  to  reject 
Christianity,  but  the  day  is  fast  approaching  when 
to  accept  its  dogmas  will  oe  considered  an  evidence 
of  human  weakness.  To  perpetuate  the  claim  that 
Lincoln  was  a  Christian  is  to  perpetuate  an  idea 


PREFACE. 

that  in  a  future  age  will  lessen  the  luster  of  his 
name.  | 

It  will  be  urged  by  some  that  the  intent  and  pur 
pose  of  this  work  is  solely  to  promote  the  interests 
of  Freethought.  But  it  is  not.  The  writer  advo 
cates  no  cause  that  requires  the  prestige  of  a  great 
name  to  make  it  respectable.  The  cause  that  re 
quires  the  indorsement  of  the  great  to  sustain  it  is- 
not  worthy  to  survive.  He  has  prosecuted  this  in 
vestigation,  not  in  the  interest  of  any  belief  01 
creed,  but  in  the  interest  of  truth ;  and  truth  i^ 
certainly  as  high  as  any  creed,  even  if  that  creed 
be  true.  In  proving  Lincoln  a  disbeliever  he  does 
not  presume  to  have  proved  Christianity  false,  <>i 
Freethought  true ;  but  he  has  shown  that  some 
Christians  are  not  honest,  and  that  an  honest  man 
may  be  a  Freethinker. 

ATCHISON,  KAN.,   April,  1893. 


rU*I7BRSITr 

s 

CHAPTEE  I. 

CHRISTIAN  TESTIMONY. 

Dr.  J.  G.  Holland — Hon.  Newton  Bateman— Rev.  J.  A.  Reed— Rev. 
James  Smith,  D.D. — N.  W.  Edwards— Thomas  Lewis— Noah  Brooks — 
Rev.  Byron  Sunderlaud,  D.D. — Rev.  Dr.  Miner — Rev.  Dr.  Gurley — 
Hon.  I.  N.  Arnold— F.  B.  Carpenter —Isaac  Hawley — Rev.  Mr.  Willets 
— A  Pious  Nurse—  Western  Christian  Advocate — An  Illinois 
Clergyman — Rev.  J.  H.  Barrows.  D.D. — Rev.  Francis  Vinton,  D.D. — 
Bishop  Simpson. 

CHAPTEE  II. 

REVIEW  OF  CHRISTIAN  TESTIMONY — HOLLAND   AND   BATE 
MAN. 

Character  of  Holland's  "  Life  of  Lincoln  " — The  Bateman  Interview — 
Inconsistency  and  untruthfulness  of  its  statements — Holland's  Subse 
quent  Modification  and  Final  Abandonment  of  his  original  Claims. 

CHAPTEE    III. 

REVIEW  OF  CHRISTIAN    TESTIMONY — REED  AND   HIS  WIT 
NESSES. 

Reed — Smith — Edwards — Lewis — Brooks — Statements  of  Edwards, 
Smith,  and  Brooks  Compared — Sunderland — Miner — Gurley — Failure  of 
Reed  to  Establish  his  Claims. 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    IV. 

REVIEW   OF   CHRISTIAN   TESTIMONY — ARNOLD   AND    OTHER 
WITNESSES. 

Arnold's  u  Life  of  Lincoln" — Claims  Concerning  Lincoln's  Religious 
Biiliuf — Address  to  Negroes  of  Baltimore — Carpenter—  ITawley — Willets 
— Pious  Nurse — Western  Christian  Advocate — Illinois  Clergyman 
— Barrows — Vinton — Simpson. 

CHAPTER   Y. 

TESTIMONY   OF    HON.    WILLIAM    H.    HERNDON— PUBLISHED 

TESTIMONY. 

Herndori's  Association  with  Lincoln — Character — Writings — Com 
petency  as  a  Witness — The  Abbott  Letter — Contribution  10  the  Liberal 
Age — Article  in  the  Truth  Seeker — llerndon's  "  Life  of  Lincoln." 

CHAPTER    VI. 

TESTIMONY  OF   HON.  WILLIAM  H.  HERNDON — UNPUBLISHED 
TESTIMONY. 

Extracts  from  llerndon's  Letters — The  Books  Lincoln  Read — His 
Philosophy — His  Infidelity — Refutation  of  Christian  Claims — Aiiempis 
to  Invalidate  Herndon's  Testimony — Reed's  Calumnies — Vindication. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

TESTIMONY   OF   COL.    WARD    H.    LAMON. 

Lamon's  "Life  of  Lincoln  "--Lincoln's  Early  Skepticism — His  Inves 
tigations  at  New  Salem —  His  Book  on  Inlidehty — His  Religious  Opin 
ions  Remain  Unchanged — lloll-iud's  Condemnation  of  Lamon's  Work — 
Holland's  and  Lamon's  Works  Compared. 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTEK  VIII. 

TESTIMONY   OF    LAMON's   WITNESSES — HON.    J.    T.    STUART 
AND    COL.    J.    H.    HATHENY. 

Testimony  of  Hon.  John  T.  Stuart — Testimony  of  Col.  James  H.  Ma- 
theny — Stuart's  Disclaimer — Matheny's  Disclaimer — Examination  and 
Authorship  of  Disclaimers,  Including  the  Edwards  and  Lewis  Letters. 

CHAPTEE  IX. 

TESTIMONY   OF   LAMON's    WITNESSES — CONCLUDED. 

Dr.  C.  H.  Ray — Win.  H.  Hannah,  Esq. — James  W.  Keys — Hon. 
Jesse  W.  Fell — Col.  John  G.  Nicolay — Hon.  David  Davis — Mrs.  Mary 
Lincoln — Injustice  to  Mrs.  Lincoln — Answer  to  Reed's  Pretended  Ref 
utation  of  the  Testimony  of  Lamon's  Witnesses. 

CHAPTEK  X. 

TESTIMONY   OF   LINCOLN'S    RELATIVES   AND   INTIMATE   AS 
SOCIATES. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Lincoln — Dennis  F.  Hanks — Mrs.  Matilda  Moore — John 
Hall — Wlii.  McNeely — Mr.  Lynan — James  B.  Spaulding — Ezra  String- 
ham — Dr.  G.  H  Ambrose — Win.  G.  Green — Joshua  F.  Speed — John 
Decamp — Gr«  en  Caruthers — J.  H.  Chenery — Squire  Perkins — W.  Per 
kins — Hon.  Joseph  Gillespie— James  Gorley — Dr.  Win.  Jayne — Hon. 
Jesse  K.  Dubois — Judge  Stephen  T.  Logan — Hon.  Leonard  Swett. 

CHAPTEE  XI. 

TESTIMONY  OF   FRIENDS  AND  ACQUAINTANCES   OF   LINCOLN 
WHO   KNEW    HIM   IN   ILLINOIS. 

Hon.  W.  H.  T.-Wakefield— Hon.  D.  W.  Wilder— Dr.  B.  F.  Gardner— 
Hon.  J.  K.  Yandermark — A.  Jeffrey — Dr.  Arch  E.  McNeal — Charles 
McGrew — Edward  Butler — Joseph  Stafford — Judge  A.  D.  Norton — 


Xll  CONTENTS. 

J.  L.  Morrell — Mahlon  Ross — L.  Wilson — H.  K.  Magie — Hon. 
Tuttle — Col.  F.  S.  Rutlierford — Judge  Robert  Leachman — Hon.  Orin  B 
Gould -M.  S.  Gowin— Col.  R.  G.  Ingersoll— Leonard  W.  Volk— Joseph 
Jefferson — Hon.  E.  B.  Washburn — Hon.  E.  M.  Haines. 

CHAPTEK  XII. 

TESTIMONY   OF  FRIENDS  AND  ACQUAINTANCES   OF  LINCOLN 
WHO   KNEW   HIM   IN   WASHINGTON. 

Hon.  Geo.  W.  Julian — Hon.  John  B.  Alley — Hon.  Hugh  McCul 
loch — Bonn  Piatt — Hon.  Schuyler  Colfax — Hon.  Geo.  S.  Boutwell— 
Hon.  Win.  D.  Kelly — E.  II.  Wood — Dr.  J.  J.  Thompson— Rev.  James. 
Shrigley — Hon.  John  Covode — Jas.  E.  Murdock — Hon.  M.  B.  Field- 
Harriet  Beecher  Stowc — Hon.  J.  P.  Usher — Hon.  S.  P.  Chase- 
Frederick  Douglas — Mr.  Defrees — Hon.  Wm.  H.  Seward — Judge  Aaror 
Goodrich — Nicolay  and  Hay's  ''Life  of  Lincoln" — Warren  Chase — 
Hon.  A.  J.  G  rover — Judge  James  M.  Nelson. 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

OTHER   TESTIMONY   AND    OPINIONS. 

New  York  World— Boston  Globe— Chicago  Herald— ManforcTs 
Magazine — Herald  and  Review— Chambers's  Encyclopedia — 
Encyclopedia  Biitannica — People's  Library  of  Information — The 
World's  Sages — livery-Day  Life  of  Lincoln — lion.  Jesse  W.  Weik — 
Chas.  W.  French  — Cyrus  0.  Poole — A  Citizen  of  Springfield — Henry 
Walker — Wm.  Bissett— Frederick  Heath — Rev.  Edward  Eggleston  — 
Rev  Robert  Collyer — Allen  Thorndike  Rice— Robert  C.  Adams — 
Theodore  Stanton  —  Geo.  M.  McCrie — Gen.  M.  M.  Trumbull — Rev. 
David  Swing,  D.D. — Rev.  J.  Lloyd  Jones — Rev.  John  W.  Chadwick. 

CHAPTER  XIY. 

EVIDENCE     GATHERED     FROM     LINCOLN'S     LETTERS, 
SPEECHES,    AND    CONVERSATIONS. 

The  Bible  and  Christianity — Chr'st's  Divinity — Future  Rewards  and 
Punishments — Freedom  of  Mind — Fatalism — Providence — Lines  in 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

Copy-book — Parker — Paine — Opposition  of  Church — Clerical  Officious- 
ness  Rebuked — Irreverent  Jokes — Profanity — Temperance  Reform — In 
dorsement  of  Lord  Bolingbroke'a  Writings — Golden  Rule. 

CHAPTER    XV. 
RECAPITULATION  AND  CONCLUSION. 

Character  of  Christian  Testimony — Summary  of  Evidence  Adduced 
in  Proof  of  Lincoln's  Unbelief — '  ouglas  an  Unbeliever — Theodore 
Parker's  Theology — Fallacy  of  Claims  Respecting  Lincoln's  Reputed 
Conversion — His  Invocations  of  Deity — His  Alleged  Regard  for  the 
Sabbath — The  Church  and  Hypocrisy — Lincoln's  Religion. 


UII7BRSITT 


INTRODUCTION. 


WAS  Abraham  Lincoln  a  Christian?  Many  confi 
dently  believe  and  earnestly  contend  that  he  was  ; 
others  as  confidently  believe  and  as  earnestly  con 
tend  that  he  was  not. 

Before  attempting  to  answer  this  question,  let  us 
define  what  constitutes  a  Christian.  A  Christian  is 
one  who,  in  common  with  the  adherents  of  nearly 
all  the  religions  of  mankind,  believes,  1.  In  the  ex 
istence  of  a  God ;  2.  In  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 
As  distinguished  from  the  adherents  of  other  relig 
ions,  he  believes,  1.  That  the  Bible  is  a  revelation 
from  God  to  man ;  2.  That  Jesus  Christ  was  the 
miraculously  begotten  son  of  God.  He  also  believes 
in  various  other  doctrines  peculiar  to  Christianity, 
the  chief  of  which  are,  1.  The  fall  of  man  ;  2.  The 
atonement. 

Those  who  in  nominally  Christian  countries  reject 
the  dogmas  of  Christianity  are  denominated  Infi 
dels,  Freethinkers,  Liberals,  Rationalists,  uiibeliev- 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

ers,  disbelievers,  skeptics,  etc.  These  Infidels,  or 
Freethinkers,  represent  various  phases  of  belief, 
among  which  are,  1.  Deists,  who  affirm  the  existence 
of  a  God  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul ;  2.  Atheists, 
who  deny  the  existence  of  a  God,  and,  generally,  the 
soul's  immortalit}7 ;  3.  Agnostics,  who  neither  affirm 
nor  deny  these  doctrines. 

The  following  are  the  religious  views  Lincoln  is 
said  to  have  held  as  presented  by  those  who  affirm 
that  he  was  a  Christian  : 

1.  He  believed  in  the  existence  of  a  God,  and  ac 
cepted  the  Christian  conception  of  this  Being. 

2.  He  believed  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and 
in  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the  resurrection. 

3.  He  believed  that  the  Bible  is  a  revelation  from 
God — the  only  revealed  will  of  God. 

4.  He  believed  in  the  divinity  of  Christ — believed 
that  Christ  is  God. 

5.  He  believed  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer,  and  was 
accustomed  to  pray  himself. 

6.  He  believed  in  the  doctrine  of  experimental  re 
ligion,  and  had  experienced  a  change  of  heart. 

7.  Although  he  never  united  with  any  church,  he 
was  contemplating  such  a  step  at  the  time  of  his  as 
sassination. 

8.  The  church  with  which  he  would  have  united, 
we  are  led  to  infer,  was  the  Presbyterian. 

The  following  is  a  statement  of   the  theological 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

opinions  of  Lincoln  as  understood  by  those  who  deny 
that  he  was  a  Christian  :     , 

1.  In  regard  to  a  Supreme  Being  he  entertained  at 
times  Agnostic  and  even  Atheistic  opinions.    During 
the  later  years  of  his  life,  however,  he  professed  a 
sort  of  Deistic  belief,  but  he  did  not  accept  the 
Christian    or     anthropomorphic    conception     of    a 
Deity. 

2.  So  far  as  the  doctrine  of  immortality  is  con 
cerned,  he  was  an  Agnostic. 

3.  He  did  not  believe  in  the  Christian  doctrine  of 
the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures.     He  believed  that 
Burns  and  Paine  were  as  much  inspired   as   David 
and  Paul. 

4.  He  did  not  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  Christ's 
divinity.     He  affirmed  that  Jesus  was  either  the  son 
of  Joseph  and  Mary,  or  the  illegitimate  son  of  Mary. 

5.  He  did  not  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  a  special 
creation. 

6.  He  believed  in  the  theory  of   Evolution,  so  far 
as  this  theory  had  been  developed  in  his  time. 

7.  He   did   not   believe  in    miracles    and    special 
providences.     He  believed   that  all  things  are  gov 
erned   by  immutable  laws,  and    that  miracles  and 
special  providences,  in  the  evangelical  sense  of  these 
terms,  are  impossible, 

8.  He   rejected   the  doctrine  of  total,  or  inherent 
depravity. 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

9.  He  repudiated  the  doctrine  of  vicarious  atone 
ment. 

10.  He  condemned  the  doctrine  of  forgiveness  for 
sin. 

11.  He  opposed  the  doctrine  of  future  rewards  and 
punishments. 

12.  He  denied  the  doctrine  of  the  freedom  of  the 
will. 

13.  He  did  not  believe  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer  as 
understood  by  orthodox  Christians. 

14.  He  indorsed,  for  the  most  part,  the  criticisms 
of  Thomas  Paine  on  the  Bible  and  Christianity,  and 
accepted,  to  a  great  extent,  the  theological  and  hu 
manitarian  views  of  Theodore  Parker. 

15.  He    wrote    a    book    (which    was    suppressed) 
against  the  Bible  and  Christianity. 

16.  His  connection  with  public  affairs  prevented 
him  from  giving  prominence  to  his  religious  opin 
ions  during  the  later  years  of  his  life,  but  his  earlier 
views  concerning  the  unsoundness  of  the  Christian 
system   of   religion  never  underwent   any  material 
change,  and  he  died,  as  he  had  lived,  an  unbeliever, 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN:  WAS  HE 
A  CHRISTIAN? 

CHAPTER  I. 

CHRISTIAN    TESTIMONY. 

Dr.  J.  G.  Holland — Hon.  Newton  Baternau  -  Rev.  J.  A.  Reed— Rev. 
James  Smith.  D.D. —  N.  W.  Edwards —Thomas  Lewis— Xoali  Brooks — 
Rev.  Byron  Sunderland.  D.D. — Rev.  Dr.  Miner— Rev.  Dr.  Gurley — 
Hon.  I.  N.  Arnold— F.  B.  Carpenter  —Isaac  Hawley — Rev.  Mr.  Willets 
— A  Pious  Nurse  —  Western  Christian  Advocate— An  Illinois 
Clergyman —Rev.  J.  H.  Barrows.  D  D. — Rev.  Francis  Yinton,  D.D. — 
Bishop  Simpson. 

IN  confirmation  of  the  claim  that  Lincoln  was  a 
Christian,  the  following  evidence  has  been  adduced  : 

DR.   J.  G.  HOLLAND. 

President  Lincoln  died  on  the  loth  of  April,  1865. 
In  the  same  year,  the  "  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln," 
written  by  Dr.  J.  G.  Holland,  appeared.  In  the 
fields  of  poetry  and  fiction,  and  as  a  magazine  writer, 
Dr.  Holland  had  achieved  an  enviable  reputation. 
His  "  Life  of  Lincoln "  was  written  in  his  usually 


20  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

entertaining  style  and  secured  a  wide  circulation. 
He  affirmed  that  Lincoln  was  a  Christian,  and  by 
means  of  this  work,  and  through  Scribners  Magazine, 
of  which  he  was  for  many  years  the  editor,  contrib 
uted  more  than  any  other  person  to  render  a  belief 
in  this  claim  popular.  Kef  erring  to  Lincoln's  admin 
istration,  Dr.  Holland  says  : 

"  The  power  of  a  true-hearted  Christian  man,  in 
perfect  sympathy  with  a  true-hearted  Christian  peo 
ple,  was  Mr.  Lincoln's  power.  Open  on  one  side  of 
his  nature  to  all  descending  influences  from  him  to 
whom  he  prayed,  and  open  on  the  other  to  all  as 
cending  influences  from  the  people  whom  he  served, 
he  aimed  simply  to  do  his  duty  to  God  and  man. 
Acting  rightly  he  acted  greatly.  While  he  took 
care  of  deeds  fashioned  by  a  purely  ideal  standard, 
God  took  care  of  results.  Moderate,  frank,  truthful, 
gentle,  forgiving,  loving,  just,  Mr.  Lincoln  will  al 
ways  be  remembered  as  eminently  a  Christian  Presi 
dent  ;  and  the  almost  immeasurably  great  results 
which  he  had  the  privilege  of  achieving  were  clue  to 
the  fact  that  he  was  a  Christian  President "  (Life  of 
Lincoln,  p.  542). 

HON.   NEWTON   BAT  EM  AN. 

Dr.  Holland's  claim  rests  chiefly  upon  a  confession 
which  Lincoln  is  said  to  have  made  to  Newton 
Bate  man  in  1860.  During  the  Presidential  campaign 


WAS    HE    A.    CHRISTIAN  ?  21 

Lincoln  occupied  the  Executive  Chamber  at  the 
State  House.  Mr.  Bateman  was  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction  at  the  time,  had  his  office  in  the 
same  building,  and  was  frequently  in  Lincoln's  room. 
The  conversation  in  which  Lincoln  is  alleged  to  have 
expressed  a  belief  in  Christianity  is  thus  related  in 
Holland's  *;  Life  of  Lincoln  :" 

"  On  one  of  these  occasions  Mr.  Lincoln  took  up  a 
book  containing  a  careful  canvass  of  the  city  of 
Springfield  in  which  he  lived,  showing  the  candidate 
for  whom  each  citizen  had  declared  it  his  intention  to 
vote  in  the  approaching  election.  Mr.  Lincoln's 
friends  had,  doubtless  at  his  own  request,  placed 
the  result  of  the  canvass  in  his  hands.  This  was 
toward  the  close  of  October,  and  only  a  few  days  be 
fore  the  election.  Calling  Mr.  Bateman  to  a  seat  at 
his  side,  having  previously  locked  all  the  doors,  he 
said  :  (  Let  us  look  over  this  book.  I  wish  particu 
larly  to  see  how  the  ministers  of  Springfield  are  going 
to  vote.'  The  leaves  were  turned,  one  by  one,  and 
as  the  names  were  examined  Mr.  Lincoln  frequently 
asked  if  this  one  and  that  were  not  a  minister,  or  an 
elder,  or  the  member  of  such  or  such  a  church,  and 
sadly  expressed  his  surprise  on  receiving  an  affirma 
tive  answer.  In  that  manner  they  went  through  the 
book,  and  then  he  closed  it  and  sat  silently  and  for 
some  minutes  regarding  a  memorandum  in  pencil 
which  lav  before  him.  At  length  he  turned  to  Mr, 


22  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  I 

Bateman,  with  a  face  full  of  sadness,  and  said  :  *  Here 
are  twenty-three  ministers,  of  different  denomina 
tions,  and  all  of  them  are  against  me  but  three ;  and 
here  are  a  great  many  prominent  members  of  the 
churches,  a  very  large  majority  of  whom  are  against 
me.  Mr.  Bateman,  I  am  not  a  Christian — God 
knows  I  would  be  one — but  I  have  carefully  read  the 
Bible,  and  I  do  not  so  understand  this  book  ;'  and  he 
drew  from  his  bosom  a  pocket  New  Testament. 
'  These  men  well  know,'  he  continued,  '  that  I  am  for 
freedom  in  the  territories,  freedom  everywhere  as 
far  as  the  Constitution  and  laws  will  permit,  and  that 
my  opponents  are  for  slavery.  They  know  this, 
and  yet,  with  this  book  in  their  hands,  in  the  light 
of  which  human  bondage  cannot  live  a  moment,  they 
are  going  to  vote  against  me.  I  do  not  understand 
it  at  all.'  Here  Mr.  Lincoln  paused — paused  for 
long  minutes — his  features  surcharged  with  emotion. 
Then  he  rose  and  walked  up  and  down  the  room  in 
the  effort  to  retain  or  regain  his  self-possession. 
Stopping  at  last,  he  said,  with  a  trembling  voice  and 
his  cheeks  wet  with  tears  :  '  I  know  there  is  a  God, 
and  that  he  hates  injustice  and  slavery.  I  see  the 
storm  coming,  and  I  know  that  his  hand  is  in  it.  If 
he  has  a  place  for  me — and  I  think  he  has — I  believe 
I  am  ready.  I  am  nothing,  but  truth  is  everything. 
I  know  I  am  right,  for  Christ  teaches  it,  and  Christ 
is  God.' 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  23 

"  The  effect  of  this  conversation  upon  the  mind  of 
Mr.  Bateman,  a  Christian  gentleman  whom  Mr.  Lin 
coln  profoundly  respected,  was  to  convince  him  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  had,  in  his  quiet  way,  found  a  path  to 
the  Christian  standpoint — that  he  had  found  God, 
and  rested  on  the  eternal  truth  of  God.  As  the  two 
men  were  about  to  separate,  Mr.  Bateman  remarked  : 
'  I  have  not  supposed  that  you  were  accustomed  to 
think  so  much  upon  this  class  of  subjects.  Certainly 
your  friends  generally  are  ignorant  of  the  sentiments 
you  have  expressed  to  me.'  He  replied  quickly  :  '  I 
know  they  are.  I  am  obliged  to  appear  different  to 
them  ;  but  I  think  more  upon  these  subjects  than 
upon  all  others,  and  I  have  done  so  for  years ;  and  I 
am  willing  that  you  should  know  it ' "  (Life  of  Lin 
coln,  pp.  236-239). 

RE/.  J.  A.  REED. 

In  1872,  seven  years  after  the  publication  of  Hol 
land's  work,  Lamon's  "  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln " 
was  published.  In  this  work  the  statements  of  Hol 
land  and  Bateman  concerning  Lincoln's  religious 
belief  are  disputed,  and  the  testimony  of  numerous 
witnesses  cited  to  prove  that  he  lived  and  died  a  dis 
believer.  Soon  after  Lamon's  book  was  published, 
the  Rev.  J.  A.  Reed,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman,  of 
Springfield,  111.,  delivered  a  lecture  in  which  he  at 
tempted  to  refute  or  modify  the  evidence  of  Lamon's 


24  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

witnesses  and  prove  that  Lincoln  died  a  Christian. 
He  admitted  that  Lincoln  was  an  Infidel  up  to  1848, 
and  possibly  as  late  as  1862,  but  endeavored  to  show 
that  previous  to  his  death  he  changed  his  views  and 
became  a  Christian.  The  following  extracts  present 
the  salient  points  in  his  discourse  : 

"  Having  shown  what  claims  Mr.  Lamon's  book 
has  to  being  the  *  only  fair  and  reliable  history  '  of 
Mr.  Lincoln's  life  and  views,  and  of  what  '  trust 
worthy  materials '  it  is  composed,  I  shall  now  give 
the  testimony  I  have  collected  to  establish  what  has 
ever  been  the  public  impression,  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  in  his  later  life,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  a 
firm  believer  in  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion. 
The  Infidelity  of  his  earlier  life  is  not  so  much  to  be 
wondered  at,  when  we  consider  the  poverty  of  his 
early  religious  instruction  and  the  peculiar  influences 
by  which  he  was  surrounded." 

"  It  does  not  appear  that  he  had  ever  seen,  much 
less  read,  a  work  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity  till 
his  interview  with  Rev.  Dr.  Smith  in  1848.  We  hear 
of  him  as  reading  Paine,  Voltaire,  and  Theodore 
Parker,  but  nothing  on  the  other  side. 

"  While  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
not  spared  to  indicate  his  religious  sentiments  by  a 
profession  of  his  faith  in  accordance  with  the  insti 
tutions  of  the  Christian  religion,  yet  it  is  very  clear 
that  he  had  this  step  in  view,  ;ind  was  seriously  con- 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  25 

templating  it,  as  a  sense  of  its  fitness  and  an  appre 
hension  of  bis  duty  grew  upon  him.' 

In  support  of  his  claims,  Dr.  Reed  presents  the 
testimony  of  Rev.  Dr.  Smith,  Ninian  W.  Edwards, 
Thomas  Lewis,  Noah  Brooks,  Rev.  Dr.  Sunderland, 
Rev.  Dr.  Miner,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Gurley. 

REV.  JAMES    SMITH,  D.D. 

The  Rev.  James  Smith  was  for  many  years  pastor 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Springfield. 
Lincoln  formed  his  acquaintance  soon  after  he  lo 
cated  there,  remained  on  friendly  terms  with  him, 
and  with  Mrs.  Lincoln  frequently  attended  his 
church.  Dr.  Smith  was  one  of  the  three  Springfield 
clergymen  who  supported  Lincoln  for  President  in 
1860,  and  in  recognition  of  his  friendship  and  fidel 
ity,  he  received  the  consulship  at  Dundee.  Dr.  Reed 
quotes  from  a  letter  to  W.  H.  Herndon,  dated  East 
Cainno,  Scotland,  January  24,  1867,  in  which  Dr. 
Smith  says  : 

"  It  is  a  very  easy  matter  to  prove  that  while  I  was 
pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Spring 
field,  Mr.  Lincoln  did  avow  his  belief  in  the  divine 
authority  and  inspiration  of  the  scriptures,  and  I 
hold  that  it  is  a  matter  of  the  last  importance  not 
only  to  the  present,  but  all  future  generations  of  the 
great  Republic,  and  to  all  advocates  of  civil  and  re 
ligious  liberty  throughout  the  world,  that  this  avowal 


26  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

on  his  part,  and  the  circumstances  attending  it, 
together  with  very  interesting  incidents  illustrative 
of  the  excellence  of  his  character,  in  my  possession, 
should  be  made  known  to  the  public.  ...  It 
was  my  honor  to  place  before  Mr.  Lincoln  arguments 
designed  to  prove  the  divine  authority  and  inspira 
tion  of  the  scriptures  accompanied  by  the  arguments 
of  Infidel  objectors  in  their  own  language.  To  the 
arguments  on  both  sides  Mr.  Lincoln  gave  a  most 
patient,  impartial,  and  searching  investigation.  To 
use  his  own  language,  he  examined  the  arguments  as 
a  lawyer  who  is  anxious  to  reach  the  truth  investi 
gates  testimony.  The  result  was  the  announcement 
by  himself  that  the  argument  in  favor  of  the  divine 
authority  and  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  was  un 
answerable."  ^ 

HOH.  NINIAN   W.  EDWARDS. 

Ninian  W.  Edwards,  a  brother-in-law  of  Lincoln, 
writes  as  follows  : 

"  Springfield,  Dec.  24th,  1872. 
"  Kev.  Jas.  A.  Reed  : 
"  Dear  Sir- 

"  A  short  time  after  the  Rev.  Dr.  Smith  became 
pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  church  in  this  city, 
Mr.  Lincoln  said  to  me,  '  I  have  been  reading  a  work 
of  Dr.  Smith  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity,  and 
have  heard  him  preach  and  converse  on  the  subject, 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  27 

and  I  am  now  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion.'  Yours  truly, 

"  N.  W.  Edwards." 

THOMAS    LEWIS. 

In  corroboration  of  Mr.  Edwards's  statement, 
Thomas  Lewis,  of  Springfield,  111.,  testifies  as  fol 
lows : 

"  Springfield,  Jan.  6th,  1873. 
"  Rev.  J.  A.  Reed  : 
"  Dear  Sir— 

"Not  long  after  Dr.  Smith  came  to  Springfield, 
and  I  think  very  near  the  time  of  his  son's  death, 
Mr.  Lincoln  said  to  me,  that  when  on  a  visit  some 
where,  he  had  seen  and  partially  read  a  work  of  Dr. 
Smith  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity  which  had 
led  him  to  change  his  views  about  the  Christian 
religion ;  that  he  would  like  to  get  that  work  to 
finish  the  reading  of  it,  and  also  to  make  the  ac 
quaintance  of  Dr.  Smith.  I  was  an  elder  in  Dr. 
Smith's  church,  and  took  Dr.  Smith  to  Mr.  Lincoln's 
office  and  introduced  him ;  and  Dr.  Smith  gave  Mr. 
Lincoln  a  copy  of  his  book,  as  I  know,  at  his  own 
request.  Yours  etc., 

"  Thos.  Lewis." 

NOAH   BROOKS. 

Noah  Brooks,  a  newspaper  correspondent  of  New 


28  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN: 

York,  and  the  author  of  a  biography   of  Lincoln, 
gives  the  following  testimony  : 

"New  York,  Dec.  31,  1872. 
"  Kev.  J.  A.  Keed, 

"  My  Dear  Sir  : 

"In  addition  to  what  has  appeared  from  my  pen, 
I  will  state  that  I  have  had  many  conversations  with 
Mr.  Lincoln,  which  were  more  or  less  of  a  religious 
character,  and  while  I  never  tried  to  draw  anything 
like  a  statement  of  his  views  from  him,  yet  he  freely 
expressed  himself  to  me  as  having  '  a  hope  of  blessed 
immortality  through  Jesus  Christ.'  His  views 
seemed  to  settle  so  naturally  around  that  statement, 
that  I  considered  no  other  necessary.  His  language 
seemed  not  that  of  an  inquirer,  but  of  one 
who  had  a  prior  settled  belief  in  the  fundamental 
doctrines  of  the  Christian  religion.  Once  or  twice, 
speaking  to  me  of  the  change  which  had  come  upon 
him,  he  said,  while  he  could  not  fix  any  definite 
time,  yet  it  was  after  he  came  here,  and  I  am  very 
positive  that  in  his  own  mind  he  identified  it  with 
about  the  time  of  Willie's  death.  He  said,  too,  that 
after  he  went  to  the  White  House  he  kept  up  the 
habit  of  daily  prayer.  Sometimes  he  said  it  was 
only  ten  words,  but  those  ten  words  he  had.  There 
is  no  possible  reason  to  suppose  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
would  ever  deceive  me  as  to  his  religious  sentiments. 
In  many  conversations  with  him,  I  absorbed  the  firm 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  29 

conviction  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  at  heart  a  Christian 
man,  believed  in  the  Savior,  and  was  seriously  con 
sidering  the  step  which  would  formally  connect  him 
with  the  visible  church  on  earth.  Certainly,  any 
suggestion  as  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  skepticism  or  Infidel 
ity,  to  me  who  knew  him  intimately  from  1862  till 
the  time  of  his  death,  is  a  monstrous  fiction — a 
shocking  perversion. 

"  Yours  truly, 

"  Noah  Brooks." 

REV.  BYRON  SUNDER  LAND,  D.D. 

Mr.  Eeed  presents  a  lengthy  letter  from  the  Rev. 
Byron  Sunderland,  of  Washington,  dated  Nov.  15, 
187*2.  Dr.  Sunderland  in  company  with  a  party  of 
friends  visited  the  President  in  the  autumn  of  1862. 
In  this  letter  he  says : 

"After  some  conversation,  in  which  he  seemed 
disposed  to  have  his  joke  and  fun,  he  settled  down 
to  a  serious  consideration  of  the  subject  before  his 
mind,  and  for  one  half-hour  poured  forth  a  volume 
of  the  deepest  Christian  philosophy  I  ever  heard." 

REV.  DR.  MINER. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Miner,  who  met  Lincoln  in  Washing 
ton,  says : 

"  All  that  was  said  during  that  memorable  after 
noon  I  spent  alone  with  that  great  and  good  man  is 


30 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 


engraven  too  deeply  on  my  memory  ever  to  l<e 
effaced.  I  felt  certain  of  this  fact,  that  if  Mr.  Lin 
coln  was  not  really  an  experimental  Christian,  1.  e 
was  acting  like  one.  He  was  doing  his  duty  man 
fully,  and  looking  to  God  for  help  in  time  of  neec  ; 
and,  like  the  immortal  Washington,  he  believed  in 
the  efficacy  of  prayer,  and  it  was  his  custom  to  read 
the  Scriptures  and  pray  himself." 

REV.  P.  D.  GURLEY,  D.D. 

While  in  Washington,  Lincoln  with  his  family 
attended  the  Presbyterian  church  of  which  the  Key. 
Dr.  Gurley  was  pastor.  Mr.  Eeed  cites  the  follow 
ing  as  the  testimony  of  Dr.  Gurley  in  regard  to  tl  e 
alleged  Infidelity  of  Lincoln  : 

"  I  do  not  believe  a  word  of  it.  It  could  not  have 
been  true  of  him  while  here,  for  I  have  had  frequent 
and  intimate  conversations  with  him  on  the  subject 
of  the  Bible  and  the  Christian  religion,  when  he 
could  have  had  no  motive  to  deceive  me,  and  I  con 
sidered  him  sound  not  only  on  the  truth  of  the 
Christian  religion  but  on  all  its  fundamental  doctrines 
and  teachings.  And  more  than  that,  in  the  latter 
days  of  his  chastened  and  weary  life,  after  the  death 
of  his  son  Willie,  and  his  visit  to  the  battlefield  of 
Gettysburg,  he  said,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  that  he 
had  lost  confidence  in  everything  but  God,  and  that 
he  now  believed  his  heart  was  changed,  and  that  he 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  31 

loved  the  Savior,  and,  if  he  was  not  deceived  in  him 
self,  it  was  his  intention  soon  to  make  a  profession 
of  religion." 

HON.  ISAAC  N.  ARNOLD. 

One  of  the  most  ardent  friends  and  admirers  of 
Abraham  Lincoln  was  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  for  several 
years  a  member  of  Congress  from  Illinois.  Mr. 
Arnold  wrote  a  work  on  "  Lincoln  and  Slavery,"  and 
a  "  Life  of  Lincoln  "  which  was  published  in  1885. 
Lincoln's  religious  views  are  thus  described  by  Mr. 
Arnold : 

"No  more  reverent  Christian  than  he  ever  sat  in 
the  Executive  chair,  not  excepting  Washington.  He 
was  by  nature  religious  ;  full  of  religious  sentiment. 
The  veil  between  him  and  the  supernatural  was  very 
thin.  It  is  not  claimed  that  he  was  orthodox.  For 
creeds  and  dogmas  he  cared  little.  But  in  the-  great 
fundamental  principles  of  religion,  of  the  Christian 
religion,  he  was  a  firm  believer.  Belief  in  the  exist 
ence  of  God,  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  in  the 
Bible  as  the  revelation  of  God  to  man,  in  the  efficacy 
and  duty  of  prayer,  in  reverence  toward  the  Almighty, 
and  in  love  and  charity  to  man,  was  the  basis  of  his 
religion  "  (Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  446). 

"His  reply  to  the  Negroes  of  Baltimore  when 
they,  in  1864,  presented  him  with  a  magnificent 
Bible,  ought  to  silence  forever  those  who  charge  him 


32  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  : 

with  unbelief.     He  said :     '  In  regard  to  the  Grer.t 
Book  I  have  only  to  say  that  it  is  the  best  gift  which 
God  has  given  to  man.     All  the  good  from  the  Savicr 
of  the  world  is  communicated  through  this  book  ' : 
(Ibid.,  p.  447). 

"His  faith  in  a  Divine  Providence  began  at  his 
mother's  knee,  and  ran  through  all  the  changes  of 
his  life.  Not  orthodox,  not  a  man  of  creeds,  he  was 
a  man  of  simple  trust  in  God  "  (Ib.,  p.  448). 

F.  B.  CARPENTER. 

Mr.  Carpenter,  the  artist,  in  his  popular  book, 
entitled  "  Six  Months  in  the  White  House  wit  i 
Abraham  Lincoln,"  uses  the  following  language  : 

"  I  would  scarcely  have  called  Mr.  Lincoln  a  re 
ligious  man — and  yet  I  believe  him  to  have  been  .1 
sincere  Christian  "  (Six  Months  in  the  White  House, 
p.  185). 

ISAAC  HAW  LEY. 

In  the  spring  of  1887,  in  going  from  Springfield 
to  Havana,  I  met  Isaac  Hawley,  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Illinois,  and  who  for  nearly  twenty  years 
resided  within  a  few  blocks  of  Lincoln  in  Springfield. 
In  answer  to  the  question,  "  Was  Lincoln  a  Chris 
tian?"  Mr.  Hawley  replied: 

"  I  believe  that  Lincoln  was  a  Christian,  and  that 
he  was  God's  chosen  instrument  to  perform  the 
mighty  work  he  did." 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  33 

REV.  MR.   WILLETS. 

The  Kev.  Mr.  Willets,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  is  cred 
ited  with  the  following  statement  concerning  Lin 
coln's  reputed  conversion.  The  information  it  con 
tains  was  obtained,  it  is  said,  from  a  lady  of  Mr. 
Willets's  acquaintance  who  met  Lincoln  in  Washing 
ton: 

"  The  President,  it  seemed,  had  been  much  im 
pressed  with  the  devotion  and  earnestness  of  pur 
pose  manifested  by  the  lady,  and  on  one  occasion, 
after  she  had  discharged  the  object  of  her  visit,  he 
said  to  her  :  "  Mrs. ,  I  have  formed  a  high  opin 
ion  of  your  Christian  character,  and  now,  as  we  are 
alone,  I  have  a  rnind  to  ask  you  to  give  me,  in  brief, 
your  idea  of  what  constitutes  a  true  religious  expe 
rience.'  The  lady  replied  at  some  length,  stating 
that,  in  her  judgment,  it  consisted  of  a  conviction  of 
one's  own  sinfulness  and  weakness,  and  personal 
need  of  a  Savior  for  strength  and  support ;  that 
views  of  mere  doctrine  might  and  would  differ,  but 
when  one  was  really  brought  to  feel  his  need  of 
divine  help,  and  to  seek  the  aid  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
for  strength  and  guidance,  it  was  satisfactory  evi 
dence  of  his  having  been  born  again.  This  was  the 
substance  of  her  reply.  When  she  had  concluded, 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  very  thoughtful  for  a  few  moments. 
He  at  length  said,  very  earnestly,  *  If  what  you  have 


34  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  : 

told  me  is  really  a  correct  view  of  this  great  subject, 
I  think  I  can  say  with  sincerity  that  I  hope  I  am  a 
Christian  '  "  (Anecdotes  of  Lincoln,  pp.  166,  167). 

A  PIOUS  NURSE. 

A  pious  lady,  who  served  in  the  capacity  of  a  hos 
pital  nurse  at  Washington,  and  who  sometimes  vis 
ited  the  White  House,  testifies  to  Lincoln's  belief  in 
the  efficacy  of  prayer.  The  incident  narrated  oc 
curred  while  a  battle  was  in  progress,,  The  report 
says : 

"  The  possibility  of  defeat  depressed  him  greatlj  ; 
but  the  lady  told  him  he  must  trust,  and  that  he 
could  at  least  pray.  '  Yes,'  said  he,  and  taking  up  a 
Bible,  he  started  for  his  room.  Could  all  the  pec- 
pie  of  the  nation  have  overheard  the  earnest  peti 
tion  that  went  up  from  that  inner  chamber  as  it 
reached  the  ears  of  the  nurse,  they  would  have  fallen 
upon  their  knees  with  tearful  and  reverential  sym 
pathy  "  (Anecdotes  of  Lincoln,  p.  120). 

WESTERN   CHRISTIAN   ADVOCATE. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  war,  the  Western  Chris 
tian  Advocate,  the  leading  Christian  journal  of  tht> 
West,  published  the  following  : 

"  On  the  day  of  the  receipt  of  the  capitulation  of 
Lee,  as  we  learn  from  a  friend  intimate  with  the  late 
President  Lincoln,  the  cabinet  meeting  was  held  an 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  35 

hour  earlier  than  usual.  Neither  the  President  nor 
any  member  was  able,  for  a  time,  to  give  utterance 
to  his  feelings.  At  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Lincoln  all 
dropped  on  their  knees,  and  offered  in  silence  and 
in  tears  their  humble  and  heartfelt  acknowledgment 
to  the  Almighty  for  the  triumph  he  had  granted 
to  the  national  cause." 

The  above  is  quoted  by  Raymond  and  other  biog 
raphers  of  Lincoln. 

All  ILLINOIS   CLERGYMAN. 

In  the  "  Lincoln  Memorial  Album "  appears 
what  is  reported  to  be  Lincoln's  "  Reply  to  an 
Illinois  Clergyman :" 

"  When  I  left  Springfield  I  asked  the  people  to 
pray  for  me.  I  was  not  a  Christian.  When  I  buried 
my  son,  the  severest  trial  of  my  life,  I  was  not  a 
Christian.  But  when  I  went  to  Gettysburg,  and  saw 
the  graves  of  thousands  of  our  soldiers,  I  then  and 
there  consecrated  myself  to  Christ.  Yes,  I  do  love 
Jesus"  (L.  M.  A.,  p.  366). 

REV.  JOHN   H.  BARROWS. 

In  the  "  Lincoln  Memorial  Album,"  Dr.  J.  H. 
Barrows  contributes  an  article  on  "  The  Religious 
Aspects  of  Abraham  Lincoln's  Career,"  from  which 
I  quote  as  follows  : 

"  In  the  anxious  uncertainties  of  the  great  war,  he 


36  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

gradually  rose  to  the  bights  where  Jehovah  became 
to  him  the  sublimestof  realities,  the  ruler  of  nations. 
When  he  wrote  his  immortal  Proclamation,  ho 
invoked  upon  it  not  only  '  the  considerate  judgment 
of  mankind,'  but  'the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty 
God.'  When  darkness  gathered  over  the  brav-? 
armies  fighting  for  the  nation's  life,  this  strong  mail 
in  the  early  morning  knelt  and  wrestled  in  prayer 
with  him  who  holds  in  his  hand  the  fate  of  empires. 
When  the  clouds  lifted  above  the  carnage  of  Gettys 
burg,  he  gave  his  heart  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
When  he  pronounced  his  matchless  oration  on  the 
chief  battlefield  of  the  war,  he  gave  expression  to 
the  resolve  that  '  this  nation,  under  God,  should 
have  a  new  birth  of  freedom.'  And  when  he  wrote 
his  last  Inaugural  Address,  he  gave  to  it  the  lofty 
religious  tone  of  an  old  Hebrew  psalm  "  (L.  M.  A., 
p.  508). 

REV.  FRANCIS   VI N TON,  D.D. 

This  clergyman,  a  resident  of  New  York,  and  a 
stranger  to  Lincoln,  visited  the  White  House  in 
1862,  it  is  claimed,  and  indulged  in  an  argument  and 
exhortation,  the  effect  of  which  was  to  convert  the 
President  to  a  belief  in  the  Christian  doctrine  of  the 
resurrection  and  the  immortality  of  the  soul.  Dur 
ing  the  interview,  Lincoln,  it  is  reported,  fell  upon 
the  neck  of  his  clerical  visitor  and  wept  like  a  child. 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  37 

Before  retiring,  Dr.  Yinton  said  :  "  I  have  a  sermon 
upon  this  subject  which  I  think  might  interest  you." 
44  Mr.  Lincoln,"  the  report  continues,  "  begged  him 
to  send  it  at  an  early  day,  thanking  him  repeatedly 
for  his  cheering  and  hopeful  words.  The  sermon 
was  sent,  and  read  over  and  over  by  the  President, 
who  caused  a  copy  to  be  made  for  his  own  private 
use  before  it  was  returned  "  (Anecdotes  of  Lincoln, 
pp.  107,  108). 

BISHOP  SIMPSON. 

The  most  eminent  Methodist  divine  of  that  period 
was  Bishop  Simpson.  During  the  war  his  com 
manding  influence  and  rare  eloquence  did  much  to 
secure  for  the  Union  cause  the  united  support  of 
Northern  Methodists.  Lincoln  appreciated  the 
services  of  the  distinguished  divine,  and  they 
became  warm  friends.  When  the  remains  of  the 
President  were  conveyed  to  their  final  resting-place 
at  Springfield,  Bishop  Simpson  was  selected  to 
deliver  the  funeral  oration.  Alluding  to  the  religious 
phase  of  Lincoln's  character,  he  spoke  as  fol 
lows  : 

"As  a  ruler,  I  doubt  if  any  President  has  ever 
shown  such  trust  in  God,  or  in  public  documents  so 
frequently  referred  to  divine  aid.  Often  did  he 
remark  to  friends  and  to  delegations  that  his  hope 
for  our  success  rested  in  his  conviction  that  God 


38  ABKAHAM    LINCOLN: 

would  bless  our  efforts  because  we  were  trying  to  do 
right "  (Lincoln  and  Slavery,  p.  673). 


WAS   HE  A   CHRISTIAN?  39 


CHAPTER  II. 

REVIEW  OF  CHRISTIAN   TESTIMONY — HOLLAND  AND   BATE- 
MAN. 

Character  of  Holland's  u  Life  of  Lincoln  " — TheBateman  Interview — 
Inconsistency  and  untruthfulness  of  its  statements — Holland's  Subse 
quent  Modification  and  Final  Abandonment  of  his  original  Claims. 

IN  the  preceding  chapter  has  been  presented  the 
Christian  side  of  this  question.  It  has  been  pre 
sented  fully  and  fairly.  Even  the  Christian  claimant 
must  admit  that  it  is  the  longest  and  most  complete 
array  of  testimony  that  has  yet  been  published 
in  support  of  his  claim.  This  evidence  is  explicit 
and  apparently  conclusive.  To  attempt  its  refutation 
may  seem  presumptuous.  And  yet,  in  the  face  of  all 
this  evidence,  the  writer  does  not  hesitate  to  declare 
that  Abraham  Lincoln  was  not  a  Christian,  and 
pledge  himself  to  refute  the  statements  of  these  wit 
nesses  by  a  volume  of  testimony  that  is  irresistible 
and  overwhelming. 

Before  introducing  this  testimony  the  evidence 
already  adduced  will  be  reviewed.  This  evidence 
may  properly  be  grouped  into  three  divisions :  1. 
The  testimony  of  Holland  and  Bateman ;  2.  The 


40  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  : 

testimony  of  Reed  and  his  witnesses ;  3.  The  te  s- 
timony  of  Arnold  and  the  miscellaneous  evidence 
remaining. 

Holland's  ''Life  of  Lincoln,"  from  a  literary  point 
of  view,  is  a  work  of  more  than  ordinary  merit.  It 
possesses  a  beauty  of  diction  and  an  intellectual 
vigor  seldom  surpassed  ;  but  as  an  authority  it  is 
unreliable.  Like  Weems's  "Life  of  Washington,"  it 
is  simply  a  biographical  romance  founded  upon  faot, 
but  paying  little  regard  to  facts  in  presenting  tlie 
details.  Following  the  natural  bent  of  Christim 
biographers,  Holland  parades  the  subject  of  Lis 
work  as  a  model  of  Christian  piety.  He  knew  that 
this  was  false  ;  for,  while  he  was  unacquainted  with 
Lincoln,  he  had  been  apprised  of  his  unbelief — h;id 
been  repeatedly  told  of  it  before  he  wrote  his 
biography.  But  this  did  not  deter  him  from  assert 
ing  the  contrary.  He  knew  that  if  he  stated  the 
facts  the  clergy  would  condemn  his  book.  They 
needed  the  influence  of  Lincoln's  great  name  to 
support  their  crumbling  creed,  and  would  have  it  at 
any  sacrifice,  particularly  when  its  possession  re 
quired  no  greater  sacrifice  than  truth.  Holland  was 
equal  to  the  emergency.  When  one  of  Lincoln's 
friends  in  Springfield  suggested  that  the  less  said 
about  his  religious  views  the  better,  he  promptly 
replied  :  "  Oh,  never  mind  ;  I'll  fix  that."  And  lie 
did.  With  dramatic  embellishments,  he  presented 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN  ?  41 

to  the  delight  of  the  orthodox  world  the  now  famous, 
or  rather  infamous,  Bateraan  interview. 

The  publication  of  this  story  produced  a  profound 
sensation  among  the  personal  friends  of  the  dead 
President.  It  revealed  to  them  the  unpleasant  fact, 
assuming  Holland's  account  to  be  correct,  either  that 
Newton  Batenian,  who  had  hitherto  borne  the  repu 
tation  of  being  a  man  of  veracity,  was  an  unscrupu 
lous  liar,  or  that  Abraham  Lincoln,  whose  reputation 
for  honesty  and  candor,  long  anterior  to  1860,  had 
become  proverbial,  was  a  consummate  hypocrite  ; 
and  loath  as  they  were  to  believe  the  former,  they 
rejected  with  disdain  the  latter. 

Referring  to  this  story,  Lainon,  in  his  "Life  of 
Lincoln,"  says  : 

"  There  is  no  dealing  with  Mr.  Bateman  except  by 
a  flat  contradiction.  Perhaps  his  memory  was 
treacherous  or  his  imagination  led  him  astray,  or, 
perad venture,  he  thought  a  fraud  no  harm  if  it 
gratified  the  strong  desire  of  the  public  for  proofs  of 
Mr.  Lincoln's  orthodoxy  "  (Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  501). 

While  Bateman  undoubtedly  misrepresented  Lin 
coln  in  his  account  of  their  conversation — for  it  is 
not  denied  that  he  had  an  interview  with  Lincoln- 
it  is  quite  probable  that  he  did  not  to  the  extent 
represented  by  Holland.  Bateman  doubtless  exag 
gerated  the  affair,  and  Holland  magnified  Bate- 
man's  report  of  it.  In  an  article  originally  published 


42  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

in  the  Index,  and  subsequently  quoted  by  Lamon, 
Lincoln's  law  partner,  Mr.  Herndpn,  says  : 

"  I  doubt  whether  Mr.  Bateman  said  in  full  what 
is  recorded  there.  I  doubt  a  great  deal  of  it.  I 
know  the  whole  story  is  untrue — untrue  in  sub 
stance,  untrue  in  fact  and  spirit.  As  soon  as  the 
[Holland's]  '  Life  of  Lincoln '  was  out,  on  reading 
that  part  here  referred  to,  I  instantly  sought  Mr. 
Bateman  and  found  him  in  his  office.  I  spoke  to 
him  politely  and  kindly,  and  he  spoke  to  me  in  the 
same  manner.  I  said  substantially  to  him  that  Mr. 
Holland,  in  order  to  make  Mr.  Lincoln  a  technical 
Christian,  made  him  a  hypocrite  ;  and  so  his  '  Life  of 
Lincoln  '  quite  plainly  says.  I  loved  Mr.  Lincoln, 
and  was  mortified,  if  not  angry,  to  see  him  made  a 
hypocrite.  I  cannot  now  detail  what  Mr.  Bateman  said, 
as  it  was  a  private  conversation,  and  I  am  forbidden 
to  make  use  of  it  in  public.  If  some  good  gentleman 
can  only  get  the  seal  of  secrecy  removed  I  can  show 
what  was  said  and  done.  On  my  word,  the  world 
may  take  it  for  granted  that  Holland  is  wrong — that 
he  does  not  state  Mr.  Lincoln's  views  correctly" 
(Lamon's  Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  496). 

In  a  lecture  on  "  Lincoln's  Religion,"  delivered  in 
Springfield  in  1874,  alluding  to  the  same  subject, 
Mr.  Herndon  says  : 

"  My  notes  of  our  conversation  bear  date  Decem 
ber  3,  12,  and  28,  1865.  Our  conversations  were 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  43 

private,  I  suppose.  However,  I  can  say  this  much  : 
that  Mr.  Bateman  expressly  told  me  Mr.  Lin 
coln  was,  in  the  conversation  related  in  Hol 
land,  talking  politics  and  not  religion,  nor  Christian 
ity,  nor  morals,  as  such.  I  have  persistently  dogged 
Mr.  Bateman  for  the  privilege  of  publishing  my 
notes,  or  to  give  me  a  letter  explaining  what  Mr. 
Lincoln  did  say,  so  that  I  might  make  known  the 
facts  of  the  case.  Mr.  Bateman  has  as  stoutly 
refused." 

Dr.  Bateman  finally  permitted  Mr.  Herndon  to 
make  public  a  letter,  marked  "  confidential,"  which 
he  had  written  Mr.  Herndon  in  1867.  In  this  letter 
Bateman  says : 

"  He  [Lincoln]  was  applying  the  principles  of 
moral  and  religious  truth  to  the  duties  of  the  hour, 
the  condition  of  the  country,  and  the  conduct  of 
public  men — ministers  of  the  gospel.  I  had  no 
thought  of  orthodoxy  or  heterodoxy,  Unitarian  ism, 
Trinitarianism,  or  any  other  ism,  during  the  whole 
conversation,  and  I  don't  suppose  or  believe  he  had." 

Had  Lincoln  made  the  confession  he  is  reported 
to  have  made,  this  would  have  suggested  to  Mr. 
Bateman  the  idea  of  his  admitted  orthodoxy  as  well 
as  his  reputed  heterodoxy.  Had  Lincoln  declared 
that  "  Christ  is  God,"  this  would  have  suggested  to 
him  the  idea  of  Trinitarianism.  It  will  be  seen,  even 
from  this  letter,  that  instead  of  talking  theology  and 


44  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

professing  a  belief  in  Christianity,  he  was  talking 
politics  and  denouncing  the  intolerance  and  bigotry 
of  Christian  ministers. 

Dr.  Bateman  privately  asserts  that  he  was  not  cor 
rectly  reported,  that  Holland's  version  of  the  inter 
view  "is  colored."  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  ho 
had  not  the  courage  to  state  this  fact  to  the  public, 
and  his  plea,  "  My  aversion  to  publicity  in  such 
matters  is  intense."  is  a  poor  apology  for  refusing  to 
do  so. 

As  previously  intimated,  this  story  is  probably 
founded  on  fact  and  has  an  element  of  truth  in  il. 
Lincoln  and  Bateman  had  a  political  interview,  and 
the  object  of  this  interview  was  the  examination  and 
discussion  of  the  list  of  Springfield  voters.  This  list 
revealed  the  fact  that  twenty  out  of  twenty-three 
clergymen  and  a  very  large  majority  of  the  church- 
members  of  Springfield  were  opposed  to  Lincoln. 
The  significance  of  this  fact  Dr.  Holland  and  Dr. 
Bateman  have  apparently  overlooked.  Why  was  the 
church  opposed  to  him  ?  It  must  have  been  either 
because  it  was  opposed  to  the  Republican  party,  or 
because  he  was  personally  objectionable  to  the  mem 
bers  of  that  party.  His  political  principles  were  the 
principles  of  his  party,  his  ability  was  conceded,  and 
his  moral  character  was  above  reproach.  It  is  fair 
to  assume  that  the  political  sentiment  of  the  Chris 
tians  of  Springfield  was  substantially  the  political 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  45 

sentiment  of  Northern  Christians  generally.  Now, 
was  the  Northern  Church  overwhelmingly  in  favor 
of  the  extension  of  slavery?  Were  eighty-seven  per 
cent,  of  Northern  Christians  Democrats?  Or  did  the 
Christians  of  Springfield  oppose  Lincoln  because  he 
was  an  Infidel? 

Holland  makes  Bateman  affirm  that  Lincoln  "  drew 
from  his  bosom  a  pocket  New  Testament."  It  is 
generally  believed  by  Lincoln's  friends  that  he  did 
not  have  a  New  Testament,  that  the  only  book  used 
in  the  interview  was  the  book  containing  the  list  of 
Springfield  voters.  One  of  them  says  :  k<  The  idea 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  carried  the  New  Testament  or 
Bible  in  his  bosom  or  boots,  to  draw  on  his  opponents 
in  debate,  is  ridiculous."  It  is  possible,  however, 
that  there  was  a  New  Testament  in  the  room,  and 
that  Lincoln  used  it  to  enforce  an  argument.  Indeed, 
there  is  internal  evidence  in  the  story,  aside  from  the 
declaration  of  Bateman,  that  such  was  the  case.  The 
central  idea  in  his  political  creed — the  keynote  of 
his  campaigns,  both  in  1858  and  in  1860 — was  con 
tained  in  that  memorable  passage,  " '  A  house  divided 
against  itself  cannot  stand.'  This  government  can 
not  endure  permanently  half  slave  and  half  free." 
The  figure  quoted  was  a  familiar  and  powerful  one, 
and  Lincoln  recognized  its  force  in  dealing  with  the 
masses.  It  was  taken  from  the  New  Testament,  and 
from  the  words  of  Christ  himself.  That  he  should 


46  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  I 

use  it  against  those  Christians  who  were  acting  con 
trary  to  this  well-known  truth,  is  not  strange.  Im 
mediately  after  the  declaration,  "  Christ  is  God,"  he 
is  reported  as  saying  :  "  I  have  told  them  that  a  house 
divided  against  itself  cannot  stand,  and  Christ  and 
reason  say  the  same."  This  furnishes  a  solution  to 
the  whole  story.  This  shows  what  he  was  doing 
with  a  New  Testament.  In  connection  with  this, 
nothing  is  more  natural  than  that  he  should  exclaim  : 
"  Christ  teaches  it,  and  Christ  is  [their]  God  !  "  That 
he  was  terribly  in  earnest,  that  he  was  deeply  agi 
tated  and  pained  to  learn  that  his  Christian  neigh 
bors  were  opposed  to  him,  is  not  improbable.  Thus 
the  incidents  of  a  simple  political  interview  that 
were  natural  and  reasonable  have  been  perverted  to 
make  it  appear  that  he  was  a  Christian.  A  mere 
reference  to  the  New  Testament  and  Christ  have 
been  twisted  into  an  acknowledgment  of  their  divin 
ity.  Bateman  himself  admits  that  Lincoln  said  :  "I 
am  not  a  Christian."  Why  not  accept  his  statement, 
then  ?  Why  then  distort  his  words  and  in  the  face 
of  this  positive  declaration  attempt  to  prove  that  he 
was  a  Christian  ?  Bateman  reports  him  as  modify 
ing  the  statement  by  adding  :  "  God  knows  I  would 
be  one."  Yes,  "  God  knows  I  would  be  one  were  I 
convinced  that  Christianity  is  true,  but  not  convinced 
of  its  truth,  I  am  an  unbeliever." 

Lincoln  is  also  reported  to  have  said  that  in  the 


WAS   HE   A  CHRISTIAN?  47 

light  of  the  New  Testament  "  human  bondage  can 
not  live  a  moment."  But  he  did  not  utter  these 
words.  He  did  not  utter  them  because  they  are  un 
true,  and  none  knew  this  better  than  himself.  He 
knew  that  in  the  light  of  this  book  human  bondage 
had  lived  for  nearly  two  thousand  years ;  he  knew 
that  this  book  was  one  of  the  great  bulwarks  of  hu 
man  slavery  ;  he  knew  that  there  was  not  to  be  found 
between  its  lids  a  single  text  condemning  slavery, 
while  there  were  to  be  found  a  score  of  texts  sus 
taining  it ;  he  knew  that  that  infamous  law,  the 
Fugitive  Slave  law,  received  its  warrant  from  this 
book — that  Paul,  in  the  light  of  its  earliest  teach 
ings,  had  returned  a  fugitive  slave  to  his  master. 

In  this  story  Lincoln  is  charged  with  the  grossest 
hypocrisy.  He  is  declared  to  have  professed  a  be 
lief  in  Christ  and  Christianity,  and  when  Bateman 
observed  that  his  friends  were  ignorant  of  this,  he  is 
made  to  reply  :  "  I  know  they  are.  I  am  obliged  to 
appear  different  to  them."  Now,  to  use  Lincoln's 
own  words,  "  A  sane  person  can  no  more  act  with 
out  a  motive  than  can  there  be  an  effect  without  a 
cause,"  and  what  possible  motive  could  he  have  had 
for  such  conduct?  Supposing  that  he  was  base 
enough  to  be  a  hypocrite,  what  could  induce  him  to 
lead  the  world  to  suppose  he  was  an  Infidel  if  he 
were  not?  In  the  eyes  of  the  more  ignorant  and 
bigoted  class  of  Christians,  Infidelity  is  a  more 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

heinous  crime  than  murder,  and  an  Infidel  is  a 
creature  scarcely  to  be  tolerated,  much  less  to  be 
intrusted  with  a  public  office.  Freethinkers  gen 
erally  detest  the  dogmas  of  Christianity  as 
thoroughly  as  Christians  possibly  can  the  principles 
of  Freethought.  But  free  thought  and  free  speech 
are  the  leading  tenets  of  their  creed.  They  recog 
nize  the  fact  that  we  are  all  the  children  of  circum 
stances,  that  our  belief  is  determined  by  our  en 
vironments,  and  while  they  reject  Christianity,  they 
have  nothing  but  charity  for  those  who  consci 
entiously  profess  it.  They  may  repudiate  a  bigot, 
but  will  not  oppose  a  man  merely  because  he  is  a 
Christian.  If  Lincoln  were  an  Infidel,  discretion 
might  urge  a  concealment  of  his  views ;  if  he  were  a 
Christian,  policy  would  prompt  him  to  give  it  as 
wide  a  publicity  as  possible,  especially  when  he 
rested  under  the  imputation  of  being  a  disbeliever. 
Had  he  changed  his  belief  and  become  a  convert  to 
Christianity,  a  knowledge  of  the  fact  would  not  have 
lost  him  the  support  of  his  friends,  even  though 
some  of  them  were  Freethinkers ;  while  it  would 
have  secured  for  him  a  more  cordial  support  from 
the  ^Republican  side  of  the  church,  many  of  whom 
had  been  alienated  on  account  of  his  supposed  anti- 
Christian  sentiments.  It  is  hard  to  believe  that 
Lincoln  was  a  hypocrite ;  but  this  story,  if  true, 
makes  him  not  only  a  hypocrite  but  a  fool.  If  he 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  49 

believed  in  Christianity  there  can  be  but  one  reason 
advanced  for  his  desiring  to  keep  it  a  secret — he  was 
ashamed  of  it. 

Holland,  in  trying  to  explain  away  the  inconsist 
encies  of  this  fabrication,  repeatedly  blunders.  In 
one  of  his  attempts  he  makes  use  of  the  following 
remarkable  language  : 

"  It  was  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  Mr.  Lincoln  to 
hide  these  religious  experiences  from  the  eyes  of 
the  world.  .  .  .  They  [his  friends]  did  not  re 
gard  him  as  a  religious  man.  They  had  never  seen 
anything  but  the  active  lawyer,  the  keen  politician, 
the  jovial,  fun-loving  companion  in  Mr.  Lincoln. 
All  this  department  of  his  life  he  had  kept  carefully 
hidden  from  them.  Why  he  should  say  that  he  was 
obliged  to  appear  differently  to  others  does  not  ap 
pear  ;  but  the  fact  is  a  matter  of  history  that  he 
never  exposed  his  own  religious  life  to  those  who 
had  no  sympathy  with  it.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
the  clergymen  of  Springfield  knew  anything  of  these 
experiences"  (Life  of  Lincoln,  pp.  239,  240). 

What !  had  the  clergymen  of  Springfield  no  sym 
pathy  with  a  religious  life  ?  A  person  can  utter  one 
falsehood  with  some  degree  of  plausibility ;  but 
when  he  attempts  to  verify  it  by  uttering  another,  he 
usually  trips  and  falls.  The  above  passage  is  mere 
hypocritical  cant.  It  carries  with  it  not  only  its  own 
refutation,  but  that  of  the  rest  of  Holland's  testi- 


50  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  : 

mony  also.  It  is  the  language  of  the  man  who  is 
conscious  of  having  stated  a  falsehood  ;  conscio  is 
that  there  are  others  who  believe  it  to  be  a  false 
hood.  He  knew  that  the  personal  friends  of  Lin 
coln  all  understood  him  to  be  a  disbeliever.  He 
knew  that  the  church-members  of  Springfield  r,ll 
entertained  the  same  opinion.  He  virtually  says  bo 
these  people  :  "  It  is  true  that  Lincoln  professed  ;o 
be  an  Infidel,  but  he  was  not ;  he  was  a  Christian. 
The  fact  lias  been  kept  a  profound  secret.  Baterm;,n 
and  I  have  been  the  sole  custodians  of  this  secret, 
and  we  now  give  it  to  the  world." 

A  Christian  writer,  apologizing  for  the  absurd  and 
contradictory  statements  of  Holland  and  Bateman, 
says,  "They  aimed  at  the  truth."  I  do  not  belie\e 
it.  It  is  clearly  evident  that  they  aimed  at  a  plav.- 
sible  lie.  But  in  either  case  they  made  a  bad  shot. 

In  his  "  Life  of  Lincoln,"  Holland  endeavors  to 
convey  the  impression  that  Lincoln  was  always  a 
devout  Christian.  He  declares  that  even  during  the 
years  of  his  early  manhood  at  New  Salem,  "he  was 
a  religious  man ;"  that  "  he  had  a  deep  religions 
life."  When  Herndon  and  Lamon  exposed  his 
shameful  misrepresentations  he  retreated  from  his 
first  position,  and  in  Scribner's  Monthly  wrote  as  fol 
lows  : 

"  What  Abraham  Lincoln  was  when  he  lived  at 
New  Salem  and  wrote  an  anti-Christian  tract  (which 


WAS    HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  51 

the  friend  to  whom  he  showed  it  somewhat  violently 
but  most  judiciously  put  in  the  fire)  is  one  thing, 
and  it  may  be  necessary  for  an  impartial  historian 
to  record  it.  What  he  was  when  he  died  at  Wash 
ington  with  those  most  Christian  words  of  the  Second 
Inaugural  upon  his  lips,  and  that  most  Christian 
record  of  five  years  of  patient  tenderness  and  charity 
behind  him,  is  quite  another  thing." 

He  admits  that  Lincoln  was  an  In  ridel  in  Illinois, 
but  would  have  us  believe  that  he  was  a  Christian 
in  Washington.  He  refers  to  "  those  most  Christian 
words  of  the  Second  Inaugural,"  and  "that  most 
Christian  record  of  five  years  of  patient  tenderness 
and  charity."  In  the  Second  Inaugural  there  is  not 
a  word  affirming  a  belief  in  Christianity — not  a  word 
in  reference  to  Christianity.  He  mentions  God,  and 
quotes  from  the  Bible,  but  does  not  intimate  that  the 
Bible  is  God's  word.  That  Christians  have  a  mo 
nopoly  of  "patient  tenderness  and  charitv,"  can 
hardly  be  accepted.  The  history  of  the  church  does 
not  confirm  this  assumption.  Many  Christians  have 
possessed  these  virtues.  So  have  the  votaries  of 
other  religions.  These  attributes  belong  to  good 
men  everywhere,  but  they  are  the  distinguishing 
features  of  no  particular  creed. 

Smarting  under  his  exposure,  with  that  whining 
cant  so  peculiar  to  the  vanquished  religionist,  Hoi- 


52  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

land  finally  sent  forth  this  parting  wail  and  virtually 
abandoned  the  whole  case  : 

"  The  question  is,  not  whether  Abraham  Lincoln  w;ts 
a  subscriber  to  the  creeds  of  orthodoxy,  but  whether 
he  was  a  believing — that  is  to  say,  a  truthful  Chris 
tian  man  ;  not  whether  he  was  accustomed  to  c;  Jl 
Jesus  Christ  '  Lord,  Lord,'  but  whether  he  was  used 
to  do  those  things  which  Jesus  Christ  exemplified 
and  enforced.  He  was  accustomed,  as  we  know  we-11 
enough,  to  speak  of  an  Almighty  Father,  of  whom 
justice  and  mercy  and  sympathy  with  weak  and  suf 
fering  humanity  were  characteristic  attributes.  Who 
was  it  that  revealed  to  man  a  God  like  this  ?  Who 
was  it  that  once  '  showed  us  the  Father  and  it  suf 
ficed  us  ?  '  Whoever  it  was  that  made  this  revel  i- 
tion  to  mankind  it  was  of  him  that  this  man,  eve  n 
though  he  knew  it  not,  had  learned,  and  it  was  in 
his  spirit  that  he  acted"  (Scribner's  Monthly). 

The  concluding  words  of  Dr.  Holland's  testimony, 
as  quoted  from  his  "  Life  of  Lincoln,"  are  as  follows  : 

"  Moderate,  frank,  truthful,  gentle,  forgiving,  lov 
ing,  just,  Mr.  Lincoln  will  always  be  remembered  as 
eminently  a  Christian  President ;  and  the  almost 
immeasurably  great  results  which  he  had  the  privi 
lege  of  achieving  were  due  to  the  fact  that  he  was  a 
Christian  President." 

This  prediction  and  this  assumption  are  false.  1 
change  one  word  and  make  them  grandly  true. 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  53 

"Moderate,  frank,  truthful,  gentle,  forgiving, 
loving,  just,  Mr.  Lincoln  will  always  be  remembered 
as  eminently  a  Liberal  President ;  and  the  almost 
immeasurably  great  results  which  he  had  the  privi 
lege  of  achieving  were  due  to  the  fact  that  he  was  a 
Liberal  President. 


54  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 


CHAPTER     III 

REVIEW   OF   CHRISTIAN     TESTIMONY — REED    AND    HIS    WIT 
NESSES. 

Reed — Smith — Edwards — Lewis  — B'-ooks — Statements  of  Edwards. 
Smith,  and  Brooks  Compared—  Suuderlaiid — Miner — Gurley — Failure  o! 
Reed  to  Establish  his  Claims. 

OF  the  twenty  Christian  witnesses  whose  testimony 
is  given  in  Chapter  L,  ten  admit  that,  during  a  part 
of  his  life,  Lincoln  was  an  unbeliever,  or  Infidel.  Of 
the  remaining  ten,  not  one  denies  the  fact.  It  is 
conceded,  then,  that  he  was  once  an  Infidel.  Now, 
it  is  a  rule  of  law  that  when  a  certain  state  or  condi 
tion  of  things  is  once  proven  to  exist,  that  state  or 
condition  is  presumed  to  continue  to  exist  until  the 
contrary  is  proven.  If  Lincoln  was,  at  one  time,  an 
Infidel,  it  is  fair  to  assume  that  he  remained  an  In 
fidel,  unless  it  can  be  shown  that  he  changed  his  be 
lief  and  became  a  Christian.  This  Dr.  Reed  at 
tempts  to  do. 

His  lecture,  under  the  caption  of  "  The  Later  Life 
and  Religious  Sentiments  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  will 
be  found  in  ScribmSx  Monthly  for  July,  1873.  The 
evidence  presented  by  Larnon  had  placed  Dr.  Hoi- 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  55 

land  in  a  most  unenviable  light.  As  Reed's  lecture 
reaffirmed  the  claim  made  by  Holland,  and  brought 
forward  fresh  evidence  to  substantiate  the  claim,  it 
was  naturally  regarded  by  many  Christians  as  a  vin 
dication  of  Holland's  position,  especially  by  those 
who  had  not  read  Lamon's  work.  Holland  was  par 
ticularly  pleased  at  its  opportune  appearance,  and 
cheerfully  gave  it  a  place  in  his  magazine. 

Reed's  individual  testimony  proves  nothing.  He 
does  not  profess  to  know,  from  personal  knowledge, 
what  Lincoln's  religious  views  were.  The  object  of 
his  lecture  was  to  invalidate,  if  possible,  the  testi 
mony  of  those  who  affirmed  that  he  died  an  Infidel, 
and  to  present,  in  addition  to  what  had  already  been 
presented  by  Holland,  the  testimony  of  those  who 
affirmed  that  during  the  last  years  of  his  life  he  was 
a  Christian.  To  answer  his  witnesses  is  to  answer 
his  lecture. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Smith  affirms  that  he  converted  Lin 
coln  to  a  belief  in  "  the  divine  authority  and  inspira 
tion  of  the  Scriptures."  It  was  imperative  that  he 
should,  for,  said  he,  "  It  was  my  honor  to  place  be 
fore  Mr.  Lincoln  arguments  designed  to  prove  the 
divine  authority  and  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures." 
As  a  matter  of  course,  "the  result  was  the  announce 
ment  by  himself  that  the  arguments  in  favor  of  the 
divine  authority  and  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures 
were  unanswerable."  Consequently,  "  Mr.  Lincoln 


56  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

did  avow  his  belief  in  the  divine  authority  and  inspira 
tion  of  the  Scriptures." 

Impressed  with  a  deep  sense  of  the  gravity  and 
importance  of  his  work,  he  declares  that  "  It  is  ;i 
matter  of  the  last  importance  not  only  to  the  present 
but  to  all  future  generations  of  the  great  Republic, 
and  to  all  advocates  of  civil  and  religious  liberty 
throughout  the  world  that  this  avowal  on  his  part, 
.  .  .  should  be  made  known  to  the  public, ' 
coupled  with  the  more  important  fact,  of  course, 
that  it  was  Dr.  Smith  who  did  it.  It  is  to  be  re 
gretted  that  his  waiting  until  after  Lincoln's  death 
to  announce  it,  prevented  the  convert's  Christian 
friends  from  tendering  their  congratulations  and  ex 
tending  the  hand  of  fellowship.  It  is  possible  that 
he  counseled  Dr.  Smith  not  to  divulge  the  secret  for 
fear  it  might  injure  his  political  prospects.  Certain 
it  is,  his  neighbors  were  ignorant  of  this  remarkable 
change.  When  Holland  canvassed  Springfield,  in 
1865,  eager  to  obtain  a  morsel  of  evidence  upon 
which  to  base  his  claim  that  Lincoln  was  a  Christian, 
he  failed  to  catch  even  the  faintest  whisper  regard 
ing  this  alleged  conversion. 

When  Dr.  Smith's  letter  was  made  public,  the 
Christians  of  Springfield  generally  smiled,  but  said 
nothing,  while  unbelievers  laughed  outright  and 
pronounced  it  the  acme  of  absurdity.  Dr.  Reed  read 
it  to  his  audience  and  tried  to  look  serious. 


WAS   HE   A 


Concerning  this  claim,  Lincoln's  biographer,  Colo 
nel  Lamon,  says  : 

"  The  abilities  of  this  gentleman  to  discuss  such  a 
topic  to  the  edification  of  a  man  like  Mr.  Lincoln 
seem  to  have  been  rather  slender  ;  but  the  chance  of 
converting  so  distinguished  a  person  inspired  him 
with  a  zeal  which  he  might  not  have  felt  for  the 
salvation  of  an  obscurer  soul.  Mr.  Lincoln  listened 
to  his  exhortations  in  silence,  apparently  respectful, 
and  occasionally  sat  out  his  sermons  in  church  with 
as  much  patience  as  other  people.  Finding  these 
oral  appeals  unavailing,  Mr.  Smith  composed  a 
heavy  tract  out  of  his  own  head  to  suit  the  particular 
case.  'The  preparation  of  that  work,'  says  he, 
1  cost  me  long  and  arduous  labor  ;'  but  it  does  not 
appear  to  have  been  read.  Mr.  Lincoln  took  the 
'  work  '  to  his  office,  laid  it  down  without  writing  his 
name  on  it,  and  never  took  it  up  again  to  the  knowl 
edge  of  a  man  who  inhabited  the  office  with  him, 
and  who  saw  it  lying  on  the  same  spot  every  day  for 
months.  Subsequently  Mr.  Smith  drew  from  Mr. 
Lincoln  an  acknowledgment  that  his  argument  was 
unanswerable  —  not  a  very  high  compliment  under 
the  circumstances  "  (Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  498). 

The  gentleman  whom  Colonel  Lamon  refers  to  as 
testifying  that  Lincoln  did  not  read  Dr.  Smith's  book 
was  Lincoln's  partner,  Mr.  Herndon.  In  his  lecture 
pn  "  Lincoln's  Religion,"  Mr.  Herndon  says  : 


58  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN: 

i  u  Mr.  Lincoln  received  a  book  from  Dr»  Smith  on 
Infidelity.  He  placed  it  on  our  law  table.  He 
never  opened  it — never  read  it  to  my  knowledge." 

If  Dr.  Smith  had  converted  Lincoln,  as  claimed, 
is  it  not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  would  have 
joined  Dr.  Smith's  church?  Had  he  been  converted 
would  the  clergymen  of  Springfield  have  denounced 
liiin  as  an  Infidel  in  1860?  Again,  if  Dr.  Smith's 
book  was  so  effective  as  to  convert  from  Infidelity  to 
Christianity  as  great  a  mind  as  Lincoln,  why  have 
we  not  heard  more  of  it  ?  Why  has  it  not  been  used 
to  convert  other  Infidels  ?  Was  its  vitality  as  an 
evangelizer  exhausted  in  converting  Lincoln? 

Mr.  Heed  was  a  trifle  more  successful  than  Dr. 
Holland  in  obtaining  witnesses  ;  for  while  Holland 
was  able  to  secure  but  one  witness  in  Illinois,  Reed 
was  able  to  summon  two — Ninian  Edwards  and 
Thomas  Lewis. 

The  testimony  of  Mr.  Edwards,  providing  that  he 
was  the  author  of  the  letter  accredited  to  him,  can 
only  be  accounted  for  on  the  following  supposition. 
Being  a  believer  in  Christianity  himself,  he  consid 
ered  Lincoln's  Infidelity  a  grave  defect  in  his  char 
acter,  and  was  vexed  to  see  that  this  controversy  had 
given  it  such  wide  publicity.  To  assist  in  removing 
this  stain,  as  he  regarded  it.  from  his  kinsman's 
name,  he  allowed  to  be  published  over  his  signature 
a  statemj^nt  which,  ujudes^,  his  memory  was  very 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  59 

treacherous,    he    must    have    known    was    untrue. 

It  may  be  that  Lincoln  did  change  his  views  in 
regard  to  some  historical  or  doctrinal  point  con 
nected  with  Christianity,  and  informed  Mr.  Edwards 
and  other  friends  at  the  time  of  the  fact.  He  might 
have  changed  his  opinions  on  a  hundred  theological 
questions  without  having  in  the  least  changed  his 
views  in  relation  to  the  main  or  fundamental 
doctrines  of  Christianity.  An  admission  concern 
ing  some  trivial  question  connected  with  Christian 
ity  has  been  tortured  to  convey  the  idea  that  he 
accepted  the  whole  system. 

A  prominent  and  respected  citizen  of  Springfield, 
a  gentleman  whose  name  has,  as  yet,  not  been  men 
tioned  in  connection  with  this  controversy,  had  a 
conversation  with  Mr.  Edwards  relative  to  this  sub 
ject,  soon  after  Reed's  lecture  was  published,  and, 
as  the  result  of  that  conversation,  he  writes  as  fol 
lows  :  "  Mr.  Edwards  was  not  as  good  a  witness  on 
oral  examination  as  he  was  in  print." 

The  letter  of  Mr.  Edwards  is  dated  Dec.  24,  1872. 
On  Jan.  6,  1873,  the  letter  of  Thomas  Lewis  was 
written.  After  two  weeks  of  arduous  labor,  Reed, 
it  seems,  succeeded  in  finding  one  witness  in  Spring 
field  who  was  prepared  to  corroborate  the  testimony 
of  Edwards — Thomas  Lewis. 

In  a  lecture  on  Lincoln    which  appeared  in  the 


60  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

State  Register,  of  Springfield,  Mr.  Herudon  disposer 
of  this  witness  as  follows  : 

<;  Mr.  Lewis's  veracity  and  integrity  in  this  com 
munity  need  no  comment.     I  have   heard  good  mei, 
say  they  would  not  believe  his  word  under  any  cir 
cumstances,  especially  if  he  were  interested.    I  hatt 
to  state  this  of  Tom,  but  if   he  will   obtrude   himsel ' 
in  this  discussion,  I  cannot  help  but  say  a  word  ii 
self-defense.    Mr.  Lincoln  detested  this  man,  I  know 
The  idea  that  Mr.  Lincoln  would   go  to  Tom  Lewis 
and  reveal  to  him  his  religious  convictions,  is  to  me 
and  to  all  who  know  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Tom  Lewis,  too 
absurd." 

The  introduction  of  this  Lewis  as  a  witness  dem 
onstrates  the  paucity  of  evidence  to  be  obtained  01, 
this  side  of  the  question  among  Lincoln's  neighbors. 
Reed,  living  in  a  city  of  twenty  thousand  inhabitants, 
many  of  them  the  personal  friends  of  Abraham  Lin 
coln,  after  a  vigorous  search  for  evidence,  is  able 
onlv  to  present  this  pitiable  apology. 

I  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  letters  of  Ed 
wards  and  Lewis  were  drafted,  not  by  the  persons 
whose  signatures  they  bear,  but  by  the  Rev.  J.  A. 
Reed. 

We  come  next  to  the  testimony  of  Noah  Brooks. 
Mr.  Edwards,  supported  by  Mr.  Lewis,  states  that 
Lincoln  was  converted  soon  after  Dr.  Smith  located 
at  Springfield,  and  about  the  time  of  his  son  Eddie's 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN  ?  6l 

death.  Dr.  Smith  came  to  Springfield  in  1848,  and 
Eddie  died  toward  the  close  of  the  same  year.  Dr. 
Smith,  in  his  letter,  does  not  state  when  Lincoln's 
conversion  took  place,  but  it  is  understood  from 
other  sources  that  he  claimed  that  it  occurred  about 
the  year  1858.  Mr.  Brooks,  in  his  letter  to  Dr.  Reed, 
says  :  "  Speaking  to  me  of  the  change  which  had 
come  upon  him,  he  said,  while  he  could  not  fix  any 
definite  time,  yet  it  was  after  he  came  here  [Washing 
ton],  and  I  am  very  positive  that  in  his  own  mind  he 
identified  it  with  about  the  time  of  Willie's  death." 

Willie's  death  occurred  in  February,  1862,  nearly 
fourteen  years  after  the  death  of  Eddie,  and  four 
years  after  Smith  claimed  to  have  converted  Lincoln. 
Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  these  witnesses  nullify  each 
other.  The  testimony  of  each  is  contradicted  and 
refuted  by  the  testimony  of  the  other  two.  Mr. 
Edwards  says  that  Lincoln  was  converted  in  1848. 
This  is  contradicted  by  the  testimony  of  both  Smith 
and  Brooks.  According  to  Dr.  Smith  his  conversion 
happened  about  1858.  This  is  contradicted  by  the 
testimony  of  both  Edwards  and  Brooks.  Mr.  Brooks 
is  quite  positive  that  it  took  place  about  the  time  of 
Willie's  death,  in  1862.  This,  in  turn,  is  contra 
dicted  by  the  testimony  of  both  Edwards  and  Smith. 
If  Mr.  Edwards  is  right,  both  Dr.  Smith  and  Mr.  Brooks 
are  wrong.  If  Dr.  Smith  is  correct,  both  Mr.  Ed 
wards  and  Mr.  Brooks  are  incorrect.  If  Mr.  Brooks 


62  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

has  stated  the  truth  both  Mr.  Edwards  and  Dr 
Smith  have  stated  falsehoods. 

The  testimony  of  these  witnesses  does  nol 
strengthen  Reed's  case,  but  weakens  it.  The  testi 
mony  of  two  of  them  is  self-evidently  false,  and  this 
is  a  sufficient  reason  for  doubting  the  truthfulness- 
of  the  third.  Had  the  evidence  of  neither  Edwards 
nor  Smith  been  invalidated  by  the  evidence  of  the 
others,  the  fact  that  Lincoln  is  so  generally  conceded 
to  have  been  an  unbeliever  up  to  the  time  that  he 
became  President,  would  render  it  unworthy  of  con 
sideration.  The  testimony  of  Brooks  alone  demands 
notice.  Did  Lincoln  change  his  belief  after  he  left 
Springfield  and  went  to  Washington  ?  The  evidence 
upon  this  point  is  decisive. 

The  man  who  stood  nearest  to  President  Lincoln 
at  Washington — nearer  than  any  clergyman  or  news 
paper  correspondent — was  his  private  secretary, 
Col.  John  G.  Nicolay.  In  a  letter  dated  May  27, 
1865,  Colonel  Nicolay  says  : 

"Mr.  Lincoln  did  not,  to  my  knowledge,  in  any 
way  change  his  religious  ideas,  opinions,  or  beliefs 
from  the  time  he  left  Springfield  to  the  day  of  his 
death." 

In  a  letter  to  his  old  friend,  Judge  Wakefield. 
written  after  Willie's  death,  he  declared  that  his 
earlier  views  of  the  unsoundness  of  the  Christian 
scheme  of  salvation,  and  the  human  origin  of  the 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  63 

Scriptures,  had  become  clearer  and  stronger  with 
advancing  years,  and  he  did  not  think  he  should 
ever  change  them. 

After  his  assassination  Mrs.  Lincoln  said :  "  Mr. 
Lincoln  had  no  hope  and  no  faith  in  the  usual  ac 
ceptance  of  these  words."  His  lifelong  friend  and 
executor,  Judge  David  Davis,  affirmed  the  same  : 
"  He  had  no  faith  in  the  Christian  sense  of  the 
term."  His  biographer,  Colonel  Lamon,  intimately 
acquainted  with  him  in  Illinois,  and  with  him  during 
all  the  years  that  he  lived  in  Washington,  says  : 
"Never  in  all  that  time  did  he  let  fall  from  his  lips 
or  his  pen  an  expression  which  remotely  implied 
the  slightest  faith  in  Jesus  as  the  son  of  God  and 
the  Savior  of  men." 

Why  do  the  statements  of  these  witnesses,  Smith, 
Edwards,  and  Brooks,  not  agree  respecting  the  date 
of  Lincoln's  conversion?  When  their  testimony 
was  given,  Smith  was  in  Scotland,  Edwards  was  in 
Illinois,  and  Brooks  was  in  New  York. 

If  he  was  converted,  why  was  the  fact  not  revealed 
before  his  death  ?  Why  did  these  men  wait  until 
he  died  to  make  these  statements  to  the  world? 
Simply  because  the  dead  can  make  no  reply. 

Had  Lincoln  been  converted,  the  news  would  have 
been  wafted  on  the  wings  of  lightning  from  one  end 
of  the  continent  to  the  other.  It  would  have  been 
published  in  every  newspaper ;  it  would  have  been 


64  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

proclaimed  from  every  pulpit ;  it  would  have  been  a 
topic  of  conversation  at  every  fireside.  When  Heniy 
Wilson,  a  man  of  far  less  note  than  Lincoln,  was  con 
verted  to  Christianity,  the  fact  was  heralded  all  over 
the  land. 

Lincoln's  home  was  twice  visited  by  death  during 
bis  lifetime,  and  both  occasions  have  been  seized 
upon  to  assert  that  he  experienced  a  change  of  heart. 
The  death  of  a  beloved  child  is  no  common  sorrow, 
and  the  womanly  tenderness  of  Lincoln's  heart  mat. e 
it  doubly  poignant  to  him.  "When  death  entered 
his  household,"  says  his  friend,  George  W.  Julian, 
"  his  sorrow  was  so  consuming  that  it  could  only  be 
measured  by  the  singular  depth  and  intensity  of  his 
love."  That  Mr.  Edwards  and  Mr.  Brooks  did  each 
observe  a  change  in  the  demeanor  of  the  grief- 
stricken  father,  following  the  sad  events  referred  to, 
is  not  improbable.  But  a  manifestation  of  sorrow  is 
no  proof  of  a  theological  change. 

Three  of  Reed's  witnesses  remain — three  clergy 
men — Dr.  Sunderland,  Dr.  Miner,  and  Dr.  Gurley. 
Dr.  Sunderland  is  a  man  of  distinction.  He  has  had 
the  honor  of  praying  for  the  United  States  Senate 
and  officiating  at  the  marriage  of  a  President.  Yet, 
distinction  is  not  always  the  badge  of  honesty. 
W.  H.  Burr,  a  literary  gentleman,  of  Washington, 
writing  to  a  Boston  paper  in  1880,  paid  the  following 
.  tribute  to  Dr.  Sunderland's  veracity  :  "  He  can  prob- 


WAS   HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  65 

ably  put  more  falsehood  aud  calumny  in  a  page  of 
foolscap  than  any  priest  out  of  prison." 

Mr.  Suuderland  called  upon  the  President  in  1862. 
In  his  letter  to  Reed  he  says  :  "  For  one  half  hour 
[he]  poured  forth  a  volume  of  the  deepest  Christian 
philosophy  I  ever  heard."  Notwithstanding  ten 
years  had  elapsed  since  that  visit,  he  proceeded  to 
give  from  memory  a  verbatim  report  of  Lincoln's 
remarks.  The  report  is  too  long  to  reproduce  in 
this  work,  and  even  if  correct,  would  add  but  little 
to  the  weight  of  Christian  evidence  already  pre 
sented.  It  is  merely  an  ethical  discourse,  and  aside 
from  a  fewr  indirect  admissions  in  favor  of  Christian 
ity  for  which  Sunderland  doubtless  drew  upon  his 
imagination,  there  is  nothing  that  Paine  or  any  other 
Deist  might  not  with  propriety  have  uttered.  Those 
who  wish  to  peruse  Mr.  Suuderland's  letter  will  find 
it  in  Scribners  Monthly  for  July,  1873. 

Dr.  Miner,  like  Dr.  Sunderland,  had  a  quiet  chat 
with  the  President,  and  what  was  said  he  assures  us 
is  too  deeply  engraved  on  his  memory  ever  to  be 
effaced.  But,  unlike  Dr.  Sunderland,  he  does  not 
favor  us  with  a  transcript  of  it.  He  does  not  repeat 
a  word  that  was  uttered.  He  states,  however,  that, 
"  If  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  really  an  experimental 
Christian,  he  was  acting  like  one."  But  how  does  an 
experimental  Christian  act  ?  If  he  behaves  himself, 
if  he  is  intelligent  and  honest,  his  actions  are  not 


66  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  : 

materially  different  from  those  of  a  good  Freethinker. 
Dr.  Miner  did  not  believe  that  Lincoln  was  an  ex 
perimental  Christian,  and  in  his  article  there  is  an 
implied  admission  that  he  knew  nothing  about  his 
religion. 

He  says  that,  "  Like  the  immortal  Washington,  he 
believed  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer."  The  comparison 
is  happily  drawn.  Lincoln  probably  did  believe  as 
much  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer  as  Washington  ;  tln«t 
is  to  say,  he  did  not  believe  in  it  at  all,  in  the  evan 
gelical  sense.  There  is  no  evidence  that  Washing 
ton  believed  in  prayer,  no  proof  that  he  ever  ut 
tered  a  prayer.  That  story  about  his  praying  at 
Valley  Forge  is  as  truly  a  myth  as  the  story  about 
the  hatchet.  The  Eev.  E.  D.  Neill,  an  eminent 
Episcopal  minister,  and  a  relative  of  the  person  who 
is  reported  to  have  seen  Washington  engaged  in 
prayer,  pronounces  it  a  fiction. 

Dr.  Gurley  is  represented  as  saying :  "  I  con 
sidered  him  sound  not  only  on  the  truth  of  the 
Christian  religion,  but  on  all  its  fundamental  doc 
trines  and  teachings."  This,  remember,  is  from  a 
Calvinistic  standpoint.  Lincoln,  then,  not  only  ac 
cepted  Christianity,  but  its  most  ultra  variety — Cal 
vinism.  He  believed  in  original  sin,  predestination 
(including  infant  damnation),  particular  redemption, 
irresistible  grace,  and  perseverance  of  the  saints. 
Because  he  sometimes  went  with  his  wife  to  the 


WAS    HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  67 

Presbyterian  church,  of  which  she  was  an  adherent, 
the  priests  of  this  denomination  have  the  contempt 
ible  assurance  to  assert  that  he  was  a  rigid  Calvin  - 
ist! 

When  he  died  Dr.  Gurley,  being  Mrs.  Lincoln's 
pastor,  delivered  the  funeral  oration  in  Washington. 
In  that  oration  Dr.  Gurley  did  not  affirm  that  Lin 
coln  was  a  Christian,  a  thing  he  would  not  have 
failed  to  do  had  it  been  true.  Long  after  Lincoln's 
death,  Dr.  Gurley,  if  Reed  has  correctly  reported 
him,  makes  a  statement  that  he  had  not  the  courage 
to  make  over  his  dead  body. 

A  reputable  Christian  gentleman,  of  Springfield, 
who  desires  to  have  his  name  withheld  from  the 
public,  declares  that  Dr.  Gurley  knew  and  admitted 
that  Lincoln  was  a  disbeliever  in  Christianity. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  Gurley  did  not  state  in 
full  what  Reed  reports  him  to  have  stated.  A  man 
who  can  take  up  his  pen  and  at  one  sitting  indite  a 
score  of  falsehoods  and  misrepresentations,  as  Reed, 
on  a  subsequent  occasion,  is  shown  to  have  done, 
can  not  be  relied  upon  for  accuracy  as  a  reporter. 

The  reader  has  doubtless  not  failed  to  notice  the 
introduction  of  a  claim  by  Reed  to  the  effect  that 
Lincoln  at  the  time  of  his  assassination  was  intend 
ing  to  unite  with  the  church.  That  the  idea  was 
suggested  by  Reed  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  no  less 
than  three  of  these  witnesses,  including  Reed,  allude 


68  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN! 

to  it.  Reed  says  :  "  While  it  is  to  be  regretted  that, 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  spared  to  indicate  his  religious 
sentiments  by  a  profession  of  his  faith  in  accordance 
with  the  institutions  of  the  Christian  religion,  yet  i: 
is  very  clear  that  he  had  this  step  in  view."  Dr. 
Gurley  is  made  to  say  :  "  It  was  his  intention  soon 
to  make  a  profession  of  religion."  Mr.  Brooks  says  : 
"  I  absorbed  [the  porosity  of  some  of  these  witnesses 
is  remarkable]  the  firm  conviction  that  Mr.  Lincoln 

.  .  was  seriously  considering  the  step  which 
would  formally  connect  him  with  the  visible  church 
on  earth." 

This  dernier  resort  of  an  argument  has  been  re 
peated  respecting  nearly  every  notable  person  who 
has  died  outside  of  the  church.  Soon  after  the  pub 
lication  of  Reed's  lecture,  the  New  York  World  con 
tained  the  following  pertinent  answer  to  this  stale 
fabrication  : 

"  It  is  admitted  by  Mr.  Reed  and  everybody  else 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  working  Infidel  up  to  a  very 
late  period  of  his  life,  that  he  wrote  a  book  and 
labored  earnestly  to  make  proselytes  to  his  own 
views,  that  he  never  publicly  recanted,  and  that  lie 
never  joined  the  church.  Upon  those  who,  in  the 
face  of  these  tremendous  facts,  allege  that  he  was 
nevertheless  a  Christian  lies  the  burden  of  proof. 
Let  them  produce  it  or  forever  hold  their  peace.  In 
the  mean  time  it  is  a  sad  and  puerile  subterfuge  to 


WAS    HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  69 

argue  that  he  icould  have  been  a  Christian  if  he  had 
lived  long  enough,  and  to  lament  that  he  was  not 
1  spared '  for  that  purpose.  He  Jmd  been  spared 
fifty-six  years  and  surrounded  by  every  circumstance 
that  might  soften  his  heart  and  every  influence  that 
might  elevate  his  faith.  If  he  was  at  that  late,  that 
fatal  hour  standing  thus  gloomily  without  the  pale, 
what  reason  have  we  to  suppose  that  he  intended  ever 
to  enter?" 

Heed  speaks  of  "  the  poverty  of  his  early  religious 
instruction,"  apparently  forgetting  that  he  was  raised 
by  Christian  parents.  His  father  was  a  church- 
member,  his  mother  was  a  church-member,  and  his 
stepmother  was  a  church-member.  Reed  states, 
also,  that  the  books  he  read  were  all  of  an  anti- 
religious  character.  Holland,  on  the  contrary,  de 
clares  that  better  books  than  those  he  read  could 
not  have  been  chosen  from  the  richest  library.  The 
fact  is,  Abraham  Lincoln  did  not  become  an  Infidel 
to  Christianity  from  a  lack  of  knowledge  respecting 
its  claims.  He  thoroughly  examined  its  claims,  and 
rejected  them  because  he  found  them  untenable. 

One  important  feature  of  this  subject  Reed  has 
either  inadvertently  omitted  or  purposely  ignored, 
and  that  is  in  regard  to  the  validity  of  the  Bateman 
story.  As  the  result  of  previous  controversy  this 
evidence  had  been  rendered  valueless.  Lincoln's 
partner  had  declared  it  to  be  false,  had  asserted  that 


70  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

Mr.  Bateman  in  private  conversations  acknowledged 
it  to  be  in  part  untrue,  and  announced  his  readiness 
to  substantiate  his  assertions  if  Mr.  Bateman  could 
be  prevailed  upon  to  permit  the  publication  of  his 
notes  of  these  conversations  taken  at  the  time.  If 
Mr.  Herndon's  affirmations  were  true,  it  destroyed 
the  testimony  of  Holland  and  Bateman ;  if  untrue, 
it  challenged  Mr.  Bateman  to  reaffirm  the  state 
ments  recorded  by  Holland,  and  allow  the  seal  of 
privacy  to  be  removed  from  his  conversations  on  the 
subject.  Why  did  Mr.  Keed  not  rehabilitate  this 
damaged  evidence?  Did  he  forget  it?  No,  it  is 
plainly  evident  that  he  did  not  dare  to  attempt  it. 

In  reviewing  this  Calvinistic  coterie  of  witnesses 
(they  are  all  Calvinists,  and  nearly  all  Presbyterians), 
one  is  struck  with  the  formidable  display  of  theo 
logical  appendages.  What  an  imposing  array  of 
D.D.'s  !  Kev.  J.  A.  Keed,  D.D.!  Kev.  James  Smith, 
D.D.S  Rev.  Byron  Sunderland,  D.D.!  Rev.  Mr. 
Miner,  D.D.!  Rev.  Mr.  Gurley,  D.D.!  It  was  a 
desperate  case — divinity  was  sick  and  needed  doc 
toring.  The  doctors  of  divinity  were  accordingly 
called  in,  and  prescribed  "  The  Later  Life  and  Re 
ligious  Sentiments  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  after  which 
it  was  supposed  that  divinity  would  recover.  He 
may  be  better,  but  it  is  painfully  apparent  that  some 
of  these  D.D.'s  are  themselves  sadly  in  need  of  a 
doctor. 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  71 


CHAPTEE    IV. 

REVIEW   OF   CHRISTIAN   TESTIMONY — ARNOLD   AND     OTHER 
WITNESSES. 

Arnold's  %i  Life  of  Lincoln  " — Claims  Concerning  Lincoln's  Religious 
Belief — Address  to  Negroes  of  B  Utitnore — Carpenter — Hawley — WilleU 
— Pious  Nurse —  Western  Christian  Advocate — Illinois  Clergyman 
— Barrows — Vinton — Simpson. 

WITH  the  Christian  masses  whose  minds  have  be 
come  warped  by  the  bigoted  teachings  of  their  cler 
ical  leaders,  nothing  affects  the  reputation  of  a  man 
so  much  as  his  religious  belief.  Public  men  who  are 
disbelievers  are  fully  cognizant  of  this,  and  generally 
refrain  from  expressing  sentiments  that  would  tend 
to  alienate  those  upon  whom  the  retention  of  their 
positions  depends.  Biographers  understand  this, 
too,  and  are  likewise  aware  that  a  dead  Infidel  is  as 
cordially  hated  as  a  live  one.  They  know  that  a 
cold  reception  awaits  their  works  unless  they  are 
able  to  clothe  the  characters  of  their  subjects  in  the 
robes  of  popular  superstition.  Mr.  Arnold  realized 
this  when  he  wrote  his  "  Life  of  Lincoln."  He  had 
been  most  forcibly  reminded  of  the  fact  by  the  fate 
of  two  biographies  of  his  own  subject  which  had 


72  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN : 

already  appeared — Holland's  and  Lamon's.  Hol 
land's  work  by  catering  to  popular  prejudice,  regard 
less  of  truth,  had  been  financially  a  success;  Lamon's 
work  by  adhering  to  truth,  regardless  of  popular 
prejudice,  had  been  financially  a  failure. 

Determined  to  profit  by  these  examples,  and  in 
timidated  by  the  threats  and  entreaties  of  those  wh  ) 
had  resolved  to  secure  for  Christianity  the  influence 
of  the  Great  Emancipator's  name,  Arnold  dare  not 
give  the  facts  regarding  Lincoln's  religious  belie:'. 
Nor  is  it  to  be  presumed  that  he  desired  to.  He  had 
previously  appeared  as  a  special  pleader  for  the  pop 
ular  faith. 

He  affirms  that  "  No  more  reverent  Christian  than 
Lincoln  ever  sat  in  the  Executive  chair,  not  except 
ing  Washington."  The  fact  is,  when  Arnold  wrote 
his  biography  of  Lincoln,  no  very  reverent  Christian 
ever  had  occupied  the  Executive  chair.  Previous  to 
the  installation  of  Gen.  B.  H.  Harrison  no  real 
orthodox  Christian  communicant  had  held  the  office 
of  President. 

If  Mr.  Arnold  knew  no  more  about  Lincoln's 
religion  than  he  appears  to  have  known  about  Wash 
ington's,  a  more  charitable  reason  than  those  sug 
gested  might  be  assigned  for  his  statements  concern 
ing  the  former.  Washington,  like  Lincoln,  has  been 
claimed  by  the  church  ;  yet,  Washington,  like  Lin 
coln,  was  a  Deist.  This  is  admitted  even  by  tho 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  73 

leading  churchmen  of  his  day.  Three  of  the  most 
eminent  divines  of  his  age,  and  the  three  to  whom  he 
was  most  intimately  related  in  a  social  way,  were 
Bishop  White,  Eev.  Dr.  Abercrombie,  and  Kev.  Dr. 
Ashbel  Green.  Bishop  White  declares  that  Wash 
ington  was  not  a  communicant,  as  claimed  by  some, 
and  intimates  that  he  was  a  disbeliever.  The  Eev. 
Dr.  Abercrombie,  whose  church  he  attended  while 
he  was  President,  said :  "  Washington  was  a 
Deist.''  The  Kev.  Dr.  Ashbel  Green,  chaplain  to 
Congress  during  his  administration,  said  :  "  Like 
nearly  all  the  founders  of  the  Republic,  he  was  not 
a  Christian,  but  a  Deist." 

Arnold  presents  the  following  as  the  basis  of  Lin 
coln's  religion,  and  proofs  of  his  Christianity  :  "(1) 
Belief  in  the  existence  of  God,  (2)  in  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  (3)  in  the  Bible  as  the  revelation  of  God 
to  man,  (4)  in  the  efficacy  and  duty  of  prayer,  (5)  in 
reverence  toward  the  Almighty,  and  (6)  in  love  and 
charity  to  man." 

1.  '•  Belief  in  the  existence  of  God."     This  does 
not  prove  a  belief  in  Christianity.    The  Jew  believes 
in  the  existence  of  God  ;  the  Mohammedan  believes 
in  the  existence  of  God  ;  the  Deistic  Infidel  believes 
in  the  existence  of  God. 

2.  "  Belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul."     That 
he  believed  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  is  a  claim 
that  cannot  be  clearly  established ;  and  even  if  it 


74  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

could,  would  not  confirm  the  assumption  that  he  was 
a  Christian.  Deists,  many  of  them,  believe  in  tho 
doctrine  of  immortality.  Paine  believed  in  immor 
tality  ;  Voltaire  believed  in  immortality. 

3.  "  Belief  in  the  Bible  as  the  revelation  of  God  to 
man."     This,  if  true,  would  be  evidence  of  his  Chris 
tianity  ;  but,  unfortunately  for  Mr.  Arnold's  claim 
Lincoln  did  not  entertain  this  belief. 

4.  "  Belief  •  in  the  efficacy  and  duty  of  prayer.' 
This,  in  the  orthodox  sense  of  these  terms,  is  not 
true  ;  and  if  it  were,  would  not  furnish  conclusive 
evidence  that  he  was  a  Christian.     Jews  pray ;  Mo 
hammedans   pray ;    Buddhists    pray ;    some    Deists 
pray.     Franklin  believed  in  the  efficacy  and  duty  oi 
prayer,  and  Franklin  was  an  Infidel. 

5.  "Belief  in  reverence  to  the  Almighty."     This 
does  not  demonstrate  a  belief  in  Christianity,  for  all 
Deists  believe  in  reverence  to  the  Almighty. 

6.  "  Belief  in  love  and  charity  to  man."     When  it 
can  be  shown  that  only  Christians  believe  in  love 
and  charity,  then  will  it  be  time  to  affirm  that  Lin 
coln  was  a  Christian. 

Arnold  confounds  Christianity  with  Deism.  In 
the  following  words  he  admits  that  Lincoln  was 
simply  a  Deist :  "Not  orthodox,  not  a  man  of  creeds, 
he  was  a  man  of  simple  trust  in  God." 

When  the  subject  of  Lincoln's  belief  was  once 
mentioned  to  Mr.  Arnold,  he  said :  "  Lincoln  was  a 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  75 

rational  Christian  because  he  believed  in  morality." 
With  equal  propriety  one  might  say  of  an  upright 
Christian,  "  He  is  a  rational  Freethinker  because  he 
believes  in  morality." 

"  His  reply  to  the  Negroes  of  Baltimore,"  he  says, 
"  ought  to  silence  forever  those  who  charge  him  with 
unbelief."  This  alleged  reply  of  Lincoln  was  as  fol 
lows  : 

"  In  regard  to  the  Great  Book  I  have  only  to  say 
that  it  is  the  best  gift  which  God  has  given  to  man. 
All  the  good  from  the  Savior  of  the  world  is  com 
municated  to  us  through  this  book.  But  for  this 
book  we  could  not  know  right  from  wrong.  All 
those  things  desirable  to  man  are  contained  in  it  " 
(Lincoln  Memorial  Album,  p.  340). 

The  writer  of  this  was  in  Washington  when  the 
colored  deputation  from  Baltimore  presented  the 
President  with  a  $500  Bible.  The  papers  mentioned 
the  fact  at  the  time,  but  no  such  speech  as  Lincoln 
is  said  to  have  made  appeared  in  the  reports.  About 
two  months  later,  this  apocryphal  version  of  his  re 
marks  on  the  occasion  referred  to,  made  its  appear 
ance. 

The  first  two  sentences  contained  in  this  speech 
(the  only  part  of  it  that  Arnold  has  quoted),  Lincoln, 
if  a  Christian,  might  have  uttered.  They  are  words 
that  any  intelligent  Christian  might,  from  his  stand 
point,  with  propriety  affirm.  We  are  familiar  with 


76  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  I 

these  claims.  We  are  also  familiar  with  the  claims 
embodied  in  the  last  two  sentences.  They  are  le- 
peatedly  made.  But  they  are  made  only  by  very 
ignorant  persons,  or  by  clerical  hypocrites  who  try 
to  impose  upon  the  ignorance  aud  credulity  of  their 
hearers.  Had  Lincoln  been  a  Christian  he  would 
not  have  used  these  words,  because  he  was  too  in 
telligent  to  believe  them,  and  too  honest  to  pretend 
to  believe  them. 

Concerning  this  speech,  Lincoln's  partner,  Mr. 
Herndon,  thus  vigorously,  yet  truthfully,  remarks  : 

"I  am  aware  of  the  fraud  committed  on  Mr.  Lin 
coln  in  reporting  some  insane  remarks  supposed 
to  have  been  made  by  him,  in  1864,  on  the  presenta 
tion  of  a  Bible  to  him  by  the  colored  people  of  Balti 
more.  No  sane  man  ever  uttered  such  folly,  and  no 
sane  man  will  ever  believe  it.  In  that  speech  Mr. 
Lincoln  is  made  to  say  :  '  But  for  this  book  we  could 
not  know  right  from  wrong.'  Does  anv  human  being 
believe  that  Lincoln  ever  uttered  this  ?  What  did 
the  whole  race  of  man  do  to  know  right  from  wrong 
during  the  countless  years  that  passed  before  this 
book  was  given  to  the  world?  How  did  the  strug 
gling  race  of  man  build  up  its  grand  civilizations  in 
the  world  before  this  book  was  given  to  mankind  ? 
What  do  the  millions  of  people  now  living,  who 
never  heard  of  this  book,  do  to  know  how  to  dis 
tinguish  right  from  wrong  ?  Was  Lincoln  a  fool,  an 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  77 

ass,  a  hypocrite,  or  a  combination  of  them  all  ?  or  is 
this  speech — this  supposed — this  fraudulent  speech 
-a  lie?" 

Arnold  would  have  his  readers  believe  that  this 
speech  is  genuine.  And  yet  it  is  plainly  evident 
that  he  himself  does  not  believe  it.  He  mutilates  it 
by  omitting  the  more  orthodox  portion  of  it— the 
very  portion  he  would  have  retained  had  he  believed 
it  to  be  genuine.  The  first  part  would  suffice  to 
serve  his  purpose  ;  the  remainder  he  knew  was  too 
incredible  for  belief  and  would  stamp  the  whole  as  a 
fraud. 

Arnold  says  :  "  The  veil  between  him  and  the 
supernatural  was  very  thin."  Yes,  so  thin  that  he 
easily  saw  through  it  and  recognized  the  greater 
part  of  it  to  be  a  sham. 

"  His  faith  in  a  Divine  Providence  began  at  his 
mother's  knee,  and  ran  through  all  the  changes  of 
his  life."  I  do  not  desire  to  charge  Mr.  Arnold  with 
plagiarism,  but  the  foregoing  recalls  the  following 
much  admired  passage  to  be  found  in  Holland : 
"  This  unwavering  faith  in  a  Divine  Providence 
began  at  his  mother's  knee,  and  ran  Hke  a  thread  of 
gold  through  all  the  inner  experiences  of  his  life  " 
(Life  of  Lincoln,  pp.  61,  62). 

There  is  much  in  Arnold's  biography,  aside  from 
the  above,  to  suggest  that  Holland's  work  formed 
the  basis  and  model  of  his  own.  While  more  accu- 


78  ABEAHAM    LINCOLN: 

rate  in  the  main  than  Holland's  "Life,"  Arnold's 
"  Life  "  is  in  some  respects  equally  unreliable,  and 
less  readable. 

Adverting  to  the  many  fraudulent  stories  that  li£,ve 
been  circulated  concerning  Lincoln,  in  an  address 
delivered  in  London,  Mr.  Arnold  said  :  "  The  news 
papers  in  America  have  always  been  full  of  Lincoln 
stories  and  anecdotes,  some  true  and  many  fabulous." 
Unfortunately  for  the  cause  of  truth,  Mr.  Arnold  has 
himself  recorded  some  of  these  fabulous  stories,  not 
because  he  deemed  them  authentic,  but  because  tl.ey 
agreed  with  his  preconceived  prejudices,  or  Ihe 
prejudices  of  those  whom  he  wished  to  please. 

Mr.  Carpenter  says  :  "  I  would  scarcely  have  caled 
Mr.  Lincoln  a  religious  man,  and  yet  I  believe  him 
to  have  been  a  sincere  Christian." 

In  a  letter,  Mr.  Herndon  makes  the  following  cor 
rection  in  regard  to  his  friend  Carpenter's  state 
ment  : 

"  Mr.  Carpenter  has  not  expressed  his  own  ideas 
correctly.  To  say  that  a  man  is  a  Christian  and  yet 
not  a  religious  man  is  absurd.  Religion  is  the  generic 
term  including  all  forms  of  religion ;  Christianity  is 
a  specific  term  representing  one  form  of  religion. 
Carpenter  means  to  say  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a 
religious  man  but  not  a  Christian,  and  this  is  the 
truth." 

It  is  unfortunate  that  while  in    many    cases   we 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  79 

have  several  words  to  express  the  same  idea,  the 
same  word  in  many  cases  is  employed  to  express 
different  ideas.  Ideas  thus  become  confused.  If 
the  terms  morality,  religion,  and  Christianity,  were 
always  used  in  their  legitimate  sense — used  to  ex 
press  the  ideas  of  which  they  were  the  original  signs 
—much  trouble  and  ambiguity  would  be  avoided. 
As  it  is,  they  are  promiscuously  used  as  interchange 
able  terms.  Many  use  the  word  religion  and  even 
Christianity  when  they  mean  morality.  Mr.  Carpen 
ter  uses  the  word  religious  in  its  proper  sense,  and 
the  word  Christian  to  mean  a  moral  man.  The  fol 
lowing  examples  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  various 
forms  employed  to  express  the  thought  now  under 
consideration : 

"  I  would  scarcely  have  called  Mr.  Lincoln  a  re 
ligious  man,  and  yet  I  believe  him  to  have  been  a 
sincere  Christian." — Carpenter. 

"  I  would  scarcely  have  called  Mr.  Lincoln  a 
Christian,  and  yet  I  believe  him  to  have  been  a  truly 
religious  man." — Herndon. 

I  would  scarcely  have  called  Mr.  Lincoln  a  relig 
ious  man,  and  yet  I  believe  him  to  have  been  a  truly 
moral  man. — Author. 

We  all  desire  to  express  substantially  the  same 
thought.  I  do  not  wish  to  dictate  to  Mr.  Carpenter 
and  Mr.  Herndon  what  words  they  shall  employ  to 
convey  an  idea,  but  this  explanation  is  essential  to 


80  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

a  proper  understanding  of  the  question  in  dispute 
and  will  help  to  reconcile  much  of  the  apparent  y 
conflicting  testimony  presented  in  this  work. 

As  Lincoln  was  in  a  certain  sense  a  Deist,  the  re 
ligious  element  was  not  entirely  wanting  in  him,  and 
hence  the  statement  of  Mr.  Herndon  that  he  was  a 
religious  man  is,  in  a  degree,  true. 

The  basis  of  Carpenter's  work  was  a  series  of 
articles  contributed  to  the  New  York  Independent. 
When  it  was  decided  to  publish  these  in  book  form, 
to  swell  them  into  a  volume  of  the  desired  size,  t,o 
his  personal  reminiscences  he  added  many  of  the 
stories  pertaining  to  Lincoln  then  going  the  rounds 
of  the  press.  Although  he  was  as  it  were  a  member 
of  Lincoln's  household  six  months  he  failed  to  hear 
from  Lincoln's  lips  a  word  expressing  a  belief  in 
Christianity.  These  apocryphal  stories,  and  these 
alone,  contain  all  the  evidences  of  Lincoln's  alleged 
piety  to  be  found  in  Carpenter's  book.  And  his 
admission  that  Lincoln  was  not  a  religious  man  dis 
proves  them. 

Mr.  Hawley  professed  to  believe  that  Lincoln  was 
a  Christian,  but  he  had  no  personal  knowledge  of  the 
fact,  although  his  neighbor  for  many  years.  The 
only  reasons  he  was  able  to  adduce  upon  which  to 
predicate  his  belief  were  the  Bateman  story  and  his 
farewell  speech  on  leaving  Springfield.  The  former 
has  been  exploded,  the  latter  proves  nothing. 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  81 

During  all  the  later  years  of  his  life  Lincoln  gen 
erally  refrained  from  expressing  his  anti-Christian 
opinions,  except  to  friends  who  shared  his  views. 
This  silence,  in  connection  with  his  sterling  moral 
character,  might  lead  some  of  his  Christian  neigh 
bors  to  suppose  that  he  was  a  believer,  the  more 
especially  as  Christians  are  generally  ignorant  of  the 
extent  of  unbelief,  and  are  loath  to  believe  that  a 
person,  unless  he  openly  avows  his  disbelief,  can  be 
an  Infidel. 

According  to  Mr.  Willets,  Lincoln,  during  the 
war,  had  an  attack  of  what  he  thought  might  be  a 
"  change  of  heart."  He  consulted  a  pious  lady  in 
regard  to  it  and  requested  her  to  describe  to  him  the 
symptoms  attending  this'  theological  disease.  She 
defined  "  a  true  religious  experience "  as  "  a  con 
viction  of  one's  own  sinfulness  and  weakness,  and 
personal  need  of  the  Savior  for  strength  and  sup 
port."  She  said  that  "  when  one  was  really  brought 
to  feel  his  need  of  divine  help,  and  to  seek  the  aid 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  for  strength  and  guidance,  it  was 
satisfactory  evidence  of  his  having  been  born  again." 
Lincoln  replied  that  if  what  she  had  told  him  was 
"  a  correct  view  of  this  great  subject,"  he  hoped  he 
was  a  Christian.  But  was  this  a  correct  view  of  it  ? 
I  was  not  aware  that  conviction  constituted  con 
version.  We  have  been  taught  that  conviction  is  but 
a  preliminary  step  toward  conversion.  If  Lincoln 


82  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

relied  upon  this  as  a  true  exposition  of  this  doctrine, 
the  genuineness  of  his  conversion  may  well  be  ques 
tioned. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  Mr.  Willets  did  not  give 
the  name  of  his  informant.  As  it  is,  we  do  not  know 
whether  to  credit  "  a  lady  acquaintance  of  his,"  or 
himself,  with  the  invention  of  a  first-class  fiction. 

In  regard  to  the  story  of  the  "  Pious  Nurse,"  we 
have  not  even  a  clergyman  to  vouch  for  its  authen 
ticity.  We  do  not  know  the  name  of  this  witness  ; 
we  do  not  know  whom  she  communicated  the  story 
to ;  we  do  not  know  when  nor  where  it  made  its  first 
appearance.  We  only  know  that  for  years  it  las 
been  floating  through  the  columns  of  the  religious 
press,  a  companion-piece  to  Washington's  devotional 
exercise  at  Valley  Forge. 

"  History,"  said  Napoleon,  "  is  a  set  of  lies  agreed 
upon."  Of  the  many  lies  agreed  upon  by  Christian 
writers  in  making  up  the  history  of  Lincoln,  none 
has  become  more  thoroughly  established  than  the 
one  originally  published  by  the  Western  Christian 
Advocate.  It  has  been  incorporated  into  the  works 
of  a  score  of  historians  and  biographers,  and  is 
almost  universally  accepted  as  a  historical  fact. 

Nearly  all  the  pious  stories  relating, to  Lincoln, 
while  palpably  false  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  knew 
him,  are  yet  of  such  a  nature  as  to  render  a  com 
plete  refutation  of  them  extremely  difficult.  The 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  83 

story  under  consideration,  however,  is  of  a  different 
character.  Its  truthfulness  or  falsity  could  at  the 
time  of  its  publication  have  been  easily  ascertained. 
If  true,  any  member  of  Lincoln's  cabinet  could  have 
verified  it.  I  knew  that  it  was  untrue — at  least  I 
knew  that  a  Cabinet  meeting  had  never  been  trans 
formed  into  a  prayer  meeting  at  Lincoln's  sugges 
tion.  I  finally  resolved  to  demonstrate  its  falsity  if 
possible.  But  a  quarter  of  a  century  had  passed 
away,  and  every  member  of  Lincoln's  Cabinet  was 
dead  save  one,  Hugh  McCulloch,  his  last  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury.  With  the  aid  of  a  friend,  Mr.  N. 
P.  Stockbridge,  of  Ft.  Wayne,  Ind.,  an  old  acquaint 
ance  of  Mr.  McCulloch's,  I  succeeded  in  bringing  the 
matter  before  this  only  surviving  witness,  and  re 
ceived  from  his  pen,  in  February,  1891,  the  following 
prompt  denial  : 

"  The  description  of  what  occurred  at  the  Execu 
tive  Mansion,  when  the  intelligence  was  received  of 
the  surrender  of  the  Confederate  forces,  which  you 
quote  from  the  Western  Christian  Advocate,  is  not 
only  absolutely  groundless,  but  absurd.  After  I 
became  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  I  was  present  at 
every  Cabinet  meeting,  and  I  never  saw  Mr.  Lincoln 
or  an}'  of  his  ministers  upon  his  knees  or  in  tears. 

"  We  were  not  especially  jubilant  over  Lee's  sur 
render,  for  this  we  had  been  prepared  for  some 
days.  The  time  for  our  great  rejoicing  was  a  little 


84  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

earlier.  After  Sherman  had  commenced  his  cele 
brated  march  to  the  sea,  and  long  and  weary  days 
had  passed  without  any  reliable  reports  from  him, 
we  were  filled  with  anxiety  and  apprehension.  It 
was  when  the  news  came  that  he  and  his  army,  in 
excellent  condition,  were  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Charleston,  that  our  joy  was  irrepressible  ;  not  o  ily 
because  of  their  safety,  but  because  it  was  an  assur 
ance  that  the  days  of  the  Confederacy  were  nearly 
ended.  With  Grant  before  Kiehmond  in  command 
of  superior  forces,  and  Sherman  with  the  finest 
army  in  the  world,  ready  to  move  northward,  every 
body  felt  that  the  war  must  be  soon  concluded,  nnd 
that  the  Union  was  safe. 

"We  were,  of  course,  happy  when  General  Lee 
and  his  severely  tried  soldiers  laid  down  their  arms, 
but  this,  as  I  have  said,  was  not  unexpected.  It  was 
when  our  anxiety  in  regard  to  Sherman  was  suc 
ceeded  by  hopefulness  and  confidence  that  our  joy 
became  exuberant.  But  there  was  no  such  exhibi 
tion  of  it  as  has  been  published  by  the  Advocate." 

An  "  Illinois  Clergyman  "  reports  Lincoln  as  say 
ing  that  when  he  left  Springfield  he  was  not  a  Chris 
tian,  that  when  his  son  Willie  died  he  was  not  a 
Christian,  but  that  when  he  visited  the  battlefield  of 
Gettysburg  he  gave  his  heart  to  Christ.  Christians 
cite  the  testimony  of  this  anonymous  witness,  see  in - 
unconscious  of  the  fact  that  if  true  it  refutes 


WAS   HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  85 

the  testimony  of  every  other  Christian  witness.  If 
this  statement  be  true  what  becomes  of  the  testi 
mony  of  Holland  and  Bateman?  What  becomes  of 
the  testimony  of  Reed's  witnesses  ?  The  testimony 
of  Brooks  invalidated  the  testimony  of  every  other 
witness ;  the  testimony  of  this  Illinois  clergyman 
invalidates  the  testimony  of  Brooks  itself. 

Reed  did  not  present  this  evidence,  doubtless 
aware  that  his  lecture  already  contained  a  sufficient 
number  of  discrepancies.  He  was  thoughtful  enough, 
however,  to  anticipate  it.  He  had  Dr.  Gurley  refer 
to  Lincoln's  conversion  as  taking  place  "after  the 
death  of  his  son  Willie  and  his  visit  to  the  battle 
field  of  Gettysburg."  These  events  are  referred  to 
as  if  they  occurred  in  close  proximity  to  each  other ; 
whereas  the  death  of  Willie  occurred  during  the 
first  year  of  his  administration,  his  visit  to  Gettys 
burg  less  than  seventeen  months  before  his  assassi 
nation. 

The  passage  quoted  from  Dr.  Barrows  contains 
six  specific  affirmations. 

1.  "  In  the  anxious  uncertainties  of  the  great  war, 
he  gradually  rose  to  the  hights  where  Jehovah  be 
came  to  him  the  sublimest  of  realities,  the  ruler  of 
nations/' 

Collect  all  the  utterances  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  all 
the  letters  he  ever  wrote,  all  the  speeches  he  ever 
delivered,  all  the  state  papers  he  gave  to  the  public ; 


86  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

and  from  this  full  store  of  words  that  fell  from  his 
lips  and  flowed  from  his  pen,  I  challenge  Dr.  Bar 
rows  to  produce  one  word  expressing  a  recognition 
of  Jehovah.  Jehovah  was  to  him,  not  "  the  sublii  i- 
est  of  realities,"  not  "  the  ruler  of  nations,"  but  a 
hideous  phantom.  He  recognized  a  God,  but  his 
God  was  not  Jehovah,  the  God  of  Dr.  Barrows. 

2.  "  When  he  wrote  his  immortal  Proclamation,  1  e 
invoked  upon  it  not  only  '  the  considerate  judgment 
of  mankind,'  but  '  the  gracious  favor  of  Almiglii  y 
God.'  " 

When  he  wrote  his  immortal  Proclamation  he  did 
not  invoke  "  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God." 
This  instrument,  as  drafted  by  Lincoln,  contained  no 
allusion  to  God.  The  paragraph  containing  the 
words  quoted  was  drafted  by  Secretary  Chase  an-1 
inserted  in  the  Proclamation  at  his  urgent  request 
after  it  was  printed  and  ready  for  delivery. 

3.  "  When    darkness    gathered    over    the    brave 
armies  fighting  for  the  nation's  life,  this  strong  man, 
in  the  early  morning,  knelt  and  wrestled  in   prayer 
with  Him  who  holds  in  his   hand  the  fate  of  em 
pires." 

A  "  Christian  lady  from  Massachusetts"  (name  un 
known),  and  a  Christian  gentleman  from  New  York 
(Noah  Brooks),  declare  that  Lincoln  was  accustomed 
to  pray.  This  declaration  is  echoed  by  Arnold,  and 
reechoed  by  Barrows.  If  true,  is  it  not  strange  that 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  87 

a  hospital  nurse  and  a  newspaper  reporter  were  in 
possession  of  the  fact  while  his  most  intimate  friends 
were  entirely  ignorant  of  it  ? 

4.  "  When  the  clouds  lifted  above  the  carnage  of 
Gettysburg,  he  gave  his  heart  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ." 

This  is  the  fifth  time  that  Lincoln  gave  his  heart 
to  Christ.  The  above  statement  is  the  vital  one  in 
Dr.  Barrows's  testimony — the  keystone  in  the  arch 
comprising  "  the  religious  aspects "  of  Lincoln's 
Presidential  career.  The  others,  even  if  true,  only 
prove  a  Theistic  belief.  This  statement  affirms  that 
he  became  a  Christian — a  statement  evidently  based 
upon  the  anonymous  story  of  the  "  Illinois  clergy 
man."  Between  the  original  presented  by  the  "  Illi 
nois  clergyman  "  at  large,  and  that  presented  by  the 
Illinois  clergyman  from  Chicago,  however,  a  grave 
discrepancy  appears.  From  the  time  that  ;<  the 
clouds  lifted  above  the  carnage  of  Gettysburg  "  to 
the  time  that  Lincoln  visited  its  cemetery,  a  period 
of  twenty  weeks  had  elapsed.  Now,  did  Lincoln 
give  his  heart  to  Christ  when  the  battle  ended  on 
the  3rd  of  July,  as  stated  by  the  one,  or  not  until 
he  stood  upon  the  battle-field  on  the  19th  of  Novem 
ber,  as  asserted  by  the  other  ?  This  is  a  question 
that  we  leave  for  the  Illinois  clergymen  themselves 
to  decide. 

5.  "  When  he  pronounced  his  matchless  oration  on 


88  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

the  chief  battle-field  of  the  war,  he  gave  expression 
to  the  resolve  that  '  this  nation,  under  God,  should 
have  a  new  birth  of  freedom.' ' 

This  simple  Deistic  phrase,  "  under  God,"  is  tli3 
only  utterance  of  a  religious  character  to  be  found  i:i 
that  oration.  When  this  speech  was  delivered,  Lin 
coln,  it  is  claimed,  had  experienced  a  change  of  heari, 
and  consecrated  himself  to  Christ.  This  address 
furnishes  an  overwhelming  refutation  of  the  claim. 
At  the  dedication  of  a  cemetery,  surrounded  b\r 
thousands  of  graves,  he  ignores  Christianity,  and 
even  the  doctrine  of  immortality. 

6.  "  And  when  he  wrote  his  last  Inaugural  Ad 
dress,  he  gave  to  it  the  lofty  tone  of  an  old  Hebrew 
psalm." 

This  is  true  ;  and  it  is  likewise  true  that  in  that 
document  he  made  no  more  reference  to  Christianity 
than  did  the  Hebrew  psalmist  who  lived  and  wrote 
a  thousand  years  before  it  had  its  birth. 

The  "  Lincoln  Memorial  Album,"  in  which  Dr. 
Barrows's  article  appears,  contains  the  offerings  of 
two  hundred  contributors,  twenty  of  them  divines, 
and  among  them  Lyman  Abbot,  Dr.  Bellows,  Theo 
dore  L.  Cuyler,  Robert  Collyer,  Bishop  Coxe,  Dr. 
Crosby,  Bishop  Haven,  Philip  Schaaf,  and  Bishop 
Simpson.  The  work  is  prefaced  with  a  biographical 
sketch  of  Lincoln,  written  by  Isaac  N.  Arnold,  in 
which  he  makes  substantially  the  same  statements 


WAS    HE    A   CHRISTIAN  ?  89 

regarding  Lincoln's  belief  as  those  made  in  his 
"Life  of  Lincoln."  Aside  from  this,  Dr.  Barrows  is 
the  only  one  of  these  two  hundred  memorialists  who 
ventures  to  affirm  that  Lincoln  was  a  Christian. 

The  story  of  Dr.  Vinton,  too  absurd  to  demand 
serious  consideration — apparently  too  incredible  for 
belief — is  yet  believed  by  thousands.  When  such 
fabulous  tales  are  told  by  men  who  are  looked  upon 
as  the  exponents  of  morality,  and  published  in  papers 
and  periodicals  that  are  presumed  to  be  the  repos 
itories  only  of  truth,  it  is  not  strange  that  such 
stories  as  Washington's  Praying  at  Valley  Forge, 
Ethan  Allen  and  His  Daughter,  Don't  Unchain  the 
Tiger,  Paine's  Recanting,  and  a  thousand  and  one 
other  pious  fictions  of  a  similar  character,  have 
gained  popular  credence.  To  read  the  fabrications 
of  this  class  pertaining  to  Lincoln  alone,  one  would 
suppose  that  this  astute  statesman,  this  Chief 
Magistrate  of  a  great  nation,  this  Commauder-i^- 
Chief  of  two  millions  of  soldiers,  engaged  in  tlie  mos!; 
stupendous  civil  conflict  the  world  has  known,  occu 
pied  the  greater  portion  of  his  time  in  studying  the 
Scriptures,  poring  over  doctrinal  sermons,  partici 
pating  in  prayer-meetings  led  by  pious  nurses,  and 
weeping  upon  the  necks  of  clerical  visitors. 

Bishop  Simpson's  remarks  have  been  presented, 
not  because  they  furnish  any  proofs  of  Lincoln's  re 
puted  Christianity,  but  because  he  was  one  of  the 


90  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

clergymen  who  officiated  at  Lincoln's  funeral,  and 
because  his  words  on  that  occasion  have  been  cited 
in  support  of  this  claim.  But  he  does  not  assert 
that  Lincoln  was  a  Christian.  He  simply  testifies  to 
his  belief  and  trust  in  God — to  his  Deistic  faith- 
nothing  more. 

I  am  aware  that  in  some  of  the  published  reports 
of  his  address  there  have  been  interpolated  words 
intended  to  convey  the  idea  that  Lincoln  accepted 
Christ.  Bishop  Simpson,  I  am  sure,  never  autho 
rized  the  insertion  of  these  words.  They  express  a 
claim  he  never  made — a  claim  he  certainly  did  not 
make  on  the  day  of  Lincoln's  interment. 

In  his  funeral  address  at  Washington,  Dr.  Gurley 
did  not  affirm  that  Lincoln  was  a  Christian,  or  that 
he  was  intending  to  make  a  profession  of  religion. 
Bishop  Simpson,  in  his  oration  at  Springfield,  made 
no  mention  of  these  claims,  and  Dr.  Gurley  and 
Bishop  Simpson  are  known  to  have  held  a  consulta 
tion  before  that  oration  was  delivered. 

This  silence  is  conclusive  evidence  that  these  men 
knew  that  Lincoln  was  an  unbeliever.  Commenting 
on  this  notable  omission,  Mr.  Herndon  says  : 

"  Bishop  Simpson  delivered  the  funeral  oration, 
and  in  that  oration  there  was.  not  one  word  about 
Mr.  Lincoln's  Christianity.  Bishop  Simpson  was 
Lincoln's  friend;  Dr.  Gurley  was  Lincoln's  pastor 
in  Washington,  Now  these,  men  knew,  or  had  reason. 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  91 

to  know,  Lincoln's  religion,  and  the  world  would 
have  heard  of  his  Christianity  on  the  day  of  his 
burial  if  it  had  been  known.  But  Simpson  and 
Gurley  are  silent — dumb  before  the  Christian  world." 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  and  exhaustive  tributes 
ever  paid  to  Lincoln,  aside  from  the  matchless 
tribute  paid  by  Colonel  Ingersoll,  is  that  from  the 
pen  of  Bishop  Simpson  which  appears  in  the  "  Lin 
coln  Memorial  Album."  In  this  tribute  he  does  not 
make  even  the  remotest  allusion  to  Lincoln's  religious 
belief.  He  appears  to  have  heeded  the  advice  ten 
dered  a  less  discreet  Christian  writer,  and  recognized 
the  fact  that,  from  his  standpoint,  the  less  said  about 
the  subject  the  better.  Had  all  Christians  acted  as 
wisely  and  as  honorably  in  this  matter  as  Bishop 
Simpson,  this  controversy  about  Lincoln's  religion 
would  never  have  arisen. 

I  have  now  reviewed  the  testimony  of  these  wit 
nesses.  Tested  in  the  crucible  of  honest  criticism, 
little  remains  of  their  statements  save  the  dross  of 
falsehood  and  error.  I  may  be  charged  with  unjust 
severity  toward  these  witnesses,  nearly  all  of  whom 
are  men  of  recognized  respectability  and  distinction. 
But  a  majority  of  them  have  testified  to  what  they 
know  to  be  false,  and  against  those  wrho  knowingly 
bear  false  witness  no  censure  can  be  too  severe. 
Thousands  of  Christian  men  and  women,  misled  by 
this  false  testimony,  honestly  believe  and  contend 


92  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  I 

that  Lincoln  was  a  Christian.  Against  these  I  have 
not  an  unkind  word  to  offer.  But  I  am  resolved  to 
disabuse  their  minds  of  this  erroneous  belief.  Pain 
ful  as  the  birth  of  an  unwelcome  idea  is,  they  shall 
know  the  truth. 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  93 


CHAPTER   V. 

TESTIMONY   OF    HON.    WILLIAM    H.    HERNDON— PUBLISHED 
TESTIMONY. 

Herndon's  Association  with  Lincoln — Character — Writings — Com 
petency  as  a  Witness — The  Abbott  Letter — Contribution  to  the  Liberal 
Age — Article  in  the  Truth  Seeker — Herndon's  ''Life  of  Lincoln." 

HAVING  presented  and  reviewed  the  evidence  in 
behalf  of  the  affirmative  of  this  question,  the  evi 
dence  in  support  of  the  negative  will  next  be  given, 

and  in  consideration  of  his  long  and   intimate  asso- 

• 

ciation  with  Lincoln,  and  the  character  and  com 
prehensiveness  of  his  testimony,  the  first  to  testify 
will  be  Hon.  Win.  H.  Herndon,  of  Springfield,  111. 

In  1843,  Lincoln  formed  a  partnership  with  Mr. 
Herndon  in  the  law  business,  which  existed  for  a 
period  of  twenty-two  years,  and  was  only  dissolved 
by  the  bullet  of  the  assassin.  The  strong  attach 
ment  that  these  men  had  for  each  other  is  illustrated 
in  the  following  touching  incident,  related  in  "  The 
Everyday  Life  of  Lincoln  :" 

"  When  he  was  about  to  leave  for  Washington,  he 
went  to  the  dingy  little  law  office  which  had  shel 
tered  his  saddest  hours.  He  sat  down  on  the  couch 


94  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

and  said  to  his  law-partner,  Herndon,  '  Billy,  you 
and  I  have  been  together  more  than  twenty  years, 
and  have  never  u  passed  a  word."  Will  you  let  my 
name  stay  on  the  old  sign  till  I  come  back  from 
Washington?'  The  tears  started  to  Mr.  Herndon's 
eyes.  He  put  out  his  hand.  *  Mr.  Lincoln,'  said  he, 
'  I  will  never  have  any  other  partner  while  you  live  ;' 
and  to  the  day  of  the  assassination  all  the  doings  of 
the  firm  were  in  the  name  of  '  Lincoln  &  Herndon ' ' 
(Everyday  Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  377). 

Mr.  Herndon  died  in  1891.  Though  younger  than 
his  illustrious  partner,  he  was  at  the  time  of  his 
death  well  advanced  in  years.  He  had  retired  from 
the  active  practice  of  law,  and  resided  at  his  country 
home  near  Springfield.  He  was  noted  for  his  rugged 
honesty,  for  his  broad  philanthropy,  and  for  his 
strong  and  original  mental  qualities.  He  was  one  of 
the  pioneers  in  the  antislavery  movement,  and  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Republican  party.  He  was 
the  Republican  nominee  for  Presidential  Elector  of 
the  Springfield  district  when  the  first  Republican 
ticket,  Fremont  and  D.irton,  was  placed  in  the  field. 
Governor  Bissell,  Governor  Yates  and  Governor 
Oglesby  successively  appointed  him  Bank  Commis 
sioner  of  Illinois.  His  talents  were  recognized  and 
his  friendship  was  sought  by  many  of  the  most  emi 
nent  men  in  the  nation.  Garrison  stopped  for  weeks 
at  his  home ;  Theodore  Parker  was  his  guest ;  Hor- 


WAS   HE  A  CHRISTIAN?  95 

ace  Greeley  was  his  devoted  friend,  and  Charles 
Sumner  was  his  friend  and  correspondent. 

When  Lincoln  and  Herndon  were  first  thrown  into 
each  other's  society,  Lincoln's  mind  was  dwelling,  for 
the  most  part,  in  the  theological  (or  rather  anti-theo 
logical)  world,  while  Herndon's  found  a  most  conge 
nial  habitation  in  the  world  of  politics.  They  were 
destined  to  exercise  an  important  influence  in  mold 
ing  each  other's  characters.  Herndon  was  indebted 
chiefly  to  Lincoln  for  the  religious  views  he  enter 
tained,  while  Lincoln  was  indebted  mainly  to  Hern 
don  for  the  political  principles  which  he  finally 
espoused.  Colonel  Lamon,  in  his  "  Life  of  Lincoln," 
gives  the  following  truthful  sketch  of  the  character 
of  the  man  whom  Lincoln  made  a  Deist,  and  who  in 
turn  made  an  Abolitionist  of  Lincoln.  Alluding  to 
the  Abolitionists  of  Illinois,  as  they  appeared  in 
1854,  when  Lincoln  took  his  stand  on  the  side  of 
freedom,  Lainon  says  : 

"  Chief  among  them  was  Owen  Lovejoy ;  and 
second  to  him,  if  second  to  any,  was  William  H. 
Herndon.  But  the  position  of  this  latter  gentleman 
was  one  of  singular  embarrassment.  According  to 
himself,  he  was  an  Abolitionist  '  some  time  before 
he  was  born,'  and  hitherto  he  had  made  his  '  calling 
and  election  sure '  by  every  word  and  act  of  a  life 
devoted  to  political  philanthropy  and  disinterested 
political  labors.  While  the  two  great  national  parties 


96  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

divided  the  suffrages  of  the  people,  North  and  Sout'i. 
everything  in  his  eyes  was  dead.  He  detested  tl  e 
bargains  by  which  those  parties  were  in  the  habit  of 
composing  sectional  troubles,  and  sacrificing  tl  e 
principle  of  freedom.  When  the  Whig  party  paid 
its  breath  to  time,  he  looked  upon  its  last  agonies  ;  s 
but  another  instance  of  divine  retribution.  He  had 
no  patience  with  time-servers,  and  regarded  with 
indignant  contempt  the  policy  which  would  postpone 
the  natural  rights  of  an  enslaved  race  to  the  success 
of  parties  and  politicians.  He  stood  by  at  the  sacr  - 
fice  of  the  Whig  party  in  Illinois  with  the  spirit  of 
Paul  when  he  held  the  clothes  of  them  that  stone  1 
Stephen.  He  believed  it  was  for  the  best,  and  hoped 
to  see  a  new  party  rise  in  its  place,  great  in  the 
fervor  of  its  faith,  and  animated  by  the  spirit  of 
Wilberforce,  Garrison,  and  the  Lovejoys.  He  was  .1 
fierce  zealot,  and  gloried  proudly  in  his  title  of 
'  fanatic  ;'  for  it  was  his  conviction  that  fanatics  were 
at  all  times  the  salt  of  the  earth,  with  power  to  save 
it  from  the  blight  that  follows  the  wickedness  of 
men.  He  believed  in  a  God,  but  it  was  the  God  of 
Nature — the  God  of  Socrates  and  Plato,  as  well  as 
the  God  of  Jacob.  He  believed  in  a  Bible,  but  it 
was  the  open  scroll  of  the  universe  ;  and  in  a  religion 
clear  and  well  defined,  but  it  was  a  religion  that 
scorned  what  he  deemed  the  narrow  slavery  of  verbal 
inspiration.  Hot-blooded,  impulsive,  brave,  morally 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  97 

and  physically,  careless  of  consequences  when  moved 
by  a  sense  of  individual  duty,  he  was  the  very  man 
to  receive  into  his  inmost  heart  the  precepts  of  Mr. 
Se ward's  'higher  law'"  (Life  of  Lincoln,  pp.  350, 
351). 

His  literary  abilities,  both  as  a  speaker  and  as  a 
writer,  were  of  a  high  order.  He  had  written  a 
meritorious  work  on  Mental  Philosophy,  and  a  "  Life 
of  Lincoln,"  which  had  just  been  published  when  he 
died.  In  addition  to  numerous  addresses  upon  his 
torical,  economical,  and  other  subjects  he  prepared 
and  delivered  several  able  and  interesting  lectures 
on  Lincoln  :  "  Abraham  Lincoln  and  Ann  Rutledge," 
a  beautiful  and  touching  representation  of  that 
pathetic  and  romantic  love  episode  which  forms  one 
of  the  saddest  chapters  in  Lincoln's  history  ;  "  The 
Analysis  of  Lincoln's  Character,"  which  appears  in 
the  "Lincoln  Memorial  Album,"  and  "Lincoln's 
Religion,"  which  was  published  in  the  State  Register, 
of  Springfield,  111. 

Carpenter,  and  in  fact  nearly  every  writer  on  Lin 
coln,  has  made  free  use  of  Herndon's  writings. 
Carpenter  declares  that  his  "  masterly  '  Analysis  of 
Lincoln's  Character '  has  scarcely  an  equal  in  the 
annals  of  biographical  literature."  Both  Holland 
and  Lamon  acknowledge  that  they  were  more 
deeply  indebted  to  him  in  the  preparation  of  their 
respective  works  than  to  any  other  person.  The 


98  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  t 

Petersburg  Democrat,  published  in  Menard  county, 
where  Lincoln  spent  the  first  years  of  his  manhood, 
says:  "Mr.  Herndon  was  the  law  partner 'of  Mi. 
Lincoln  from  1843  to  I860,  and  knew  his  inner  life 
better  than  any  other  man,"  The  Sangamon  county 
Monitor,  of  Springfield,  where  Lincoln  lived  for  i 
quarter  of  a  century,  says:  "Herndon  knew  Lin 
coln's  views  better  than  any  man  in  America.  ' 
Judge  David  Davis,  the  lifelong  friend  of  Lincoli , 
in  whose  court  both  Lincoln  and  Herndon  practiced 
for  years,  declared  that  Herndon  knew  more  about 
Lincoln's  religion  than  any  other  man. 

In  this  chapter  will  be  reproduced  the  evidence  of 
Mr.  Herndon  that  has  already  been  made  public. 

The  first  elaborate  exposition  of  Lincoln's  Free- 
thought  views  was  made  in  1870,  in  Avhat  is  known 
as  the  "  Abbott  Letter,"  an  article  which  Mr.  Hern 
don  by  request  contributed  to  the  Index,  a  paper 
then  published  at  Toledo,  O.,  and  edited  by  Francis 
E.  Abbott.  The  article  was  extensively  copied  and 
commented  upon,  and  produced  a  profound  sensa 
tion  in  the  religious  world,  which,  to  a  great  extent, 
had  been  misled  by  such  writers  as  Holland.  Tho 
first  and  more  important  part  of  Mr.  Herndon's 
article  will  now  be  presented  : 

"  MB.  ABBOTT  :  Some  time  since  I  promised  you 
that  I  would  send  a  letter  in  relation  to  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  religion.  I  do  so  now.  Before  entering  on 


WAS   HE  A  CHRISTIAN?  99 

that  question,  one  or  two  preliminary  remarks  will 
help  us  to  understand  why  he  disagreed  with  the 
Christian  world  in  its  principles  as  well  as  in  its 
theology.  In  the  first  place,  Mr.  Lincoln's  mind 
was  a  purely  logical  mind ;  secondly,  Mr.  Lincoln 
was  a  purely  practical  man.  He  had  no  fancy  or 
imagination,  and  not  much  emotion.  He  was  a  real 
ist  as  opposed  to  an  idealist.  As  a  general  rule,  it 
is  true  that  a  purely  logical  mind  has  not  much 
hope,  if  it  ever  has  faith  in  the  unseen  and  unknown. 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  not  much  hope  and  no  faith  in 
things  that  lie  outside  of  the  domain  of  demonstra 
tion  ;  he  was  so  constituted,  so  organized,  that  he 
could  believe  nothing  unless  his  senses  or  logic 
could  reach  it.  I  have  often  read  to  him  a  law 
point,  a  decision,  or  something  I  fancied.  He  could 
not  understand  it  until  he  took  the  book  out  of  my 
hand,  and  read  the  thing  for  himself.  He  was  ter 
ribly,  vexatiously  skeptical.  He  could  scarcely  un 
derstand  anything,  unless  he  had  time  and  place 
fixed  in  his  mind. 

"  I  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Lincoln  in  1834, 
and  I  think  I  knew  him  well  to  the  day  of  his  death. 
His  mind,  when  a  boy  in  Kentucky,  showed  a  certain 
gloom,  an  unsocial  nature,  a  peculiar  abstractedness, 
a  bold  and  daring  skepticism.  In  Indiana,  from  1817 
to  1830,  it  manifested  the  same  qualities  or  attributes 
as  in  Kentucky :  it  only  intensified,  developed  itself, 


100  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  ! 

along  those  lines  in  Indiana.  He  came  to  Illinois  i?i 
1830,  and,  after  some  little  roving,  settled  in  New 
Salem,  now  in  Menard  county  and  state  of  Illinois. 
This  village  lies  about  twenty  miles  northwest  c  f 
this  city.  It  was  here  that  Mr.  Lincoln  became  ac 
quainted  with  a  class  of  men  the  world  never  saw 
the  like  of  before  or  since.  They  were  large  men — 
large  in  body  and  large  in  mind ;  hard  to  whip  and 
never  to  be  fooled.  They  were  a  bold,  daring,  an! 
reckless  sort  of  men;  they  were  men  of  their  own 
minds — believed  what  was  demonstrable;  were  men 
of  great  common  sense.  With  these  men  Mr.  Lii  - 
coin  was  thrown  ;  with  them  he  lived,  and  with  them 
he  moved  and  almost  had  his  being.  They  were 
skeptics  all — scoffers  some.  These  scoffers  were  good 
men,  and  their  scoffs  were  protests  against  theology 
— loud  protests  against  the  follies  of  Christianity. 
They  had  never  heard  of  Theism  and  the  newer  and 
better  religious  thoughts  of  this  age.  Hence,  being 
natural  skeptics,  and  being  bold,  brave  men,  they 
uttered  their  thoughts  freely.  They  declared  that 
Jesus  was  an  illegitimate  child.  They  were  on  all 
occasions,  when  opportunity  offered,  debating  the 
various  questions  of  Christianity  among  themselves. 
They  took  their  stand  on  common  sense  and  on  their 
own  souls  ;  and,  though  their  arguments  were  rude 
and  rough,  no  man  could  overthrow  their  homely 
logic.  They  riddled  all  divines,  and  not  uni'requently 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  101 

made  them  skeptics,  disbelievers  as  bad  as  them 
selves.  They  were  a  jovial,  healthful,  generous,  so 
cial,  true,  and  manly  set  of  people. 

"  It  was  here  and  among  these  people  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  thrown.  About  the  year  1834  he 
chanced  to  come  across  Volney's  *  Ruins  '  and  some 
of  Paine's  theological  works.  He  at  once  seized 
hold  of  them,  and  assimilated  them  into  his  own 
being.  Volney  and  Paine  became  a  part  of  Mr.  Lin 
coln  from  1834  to  the  end  of  his  life. 

"  In  1835  he  wrote  out  a  small  work  on  Infidelity, 
and  intended  to  have  it  published.  This  book  was 
an  attack  upon  the  whole  grounds  of  Christianity, 
and  especially  was  it  an  attack  upon  the  idea  that 
Jesus  was  the  Christ,  the  true  and  only-begotten  son 
of  God,  as  the  Christian  world  contends.  Mr.  Lin 
coln  was  at  that  time  in  New  Salem,  keeping  store 
for  Mr.  Samuel  Hill,  a  merchant  and  postmaster  of 
that  place.  Lincoln  and  Hill  were  very  friendly. 
Hill,  I  think,  was  a  skeptic  at  this  time.  Lincoln, 
one  day  after  the  book  was  finished,  read  it  to  Mr. 
Hill,  his  good  friend.  Hill  tried  to  persuade  him 
not  to  make  it  public,  not  to  publish  it.  Hill  at  that 
time  saw  in  Mr.  Lincoln  a  rising  man,  and  wished 
him  success.  Lincoln  refused  to  destroy  it — said  it 
should  be  published.  Hill  swore  it  should  never 
see  light  of  day.  He  had  an  eye  on  Lincoln's 
popularity — his  present  and  future  success  ;  and  be- 


102  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

lieving  that  if  the  book  was  published  it  would  kill 
Lincoln  forever,  he  snatched  it  from  Lincoln's  hand 
when  Lincoln  was  not  expecting  it,  and  ran  it  into  a:i 
old-fashioned  tinplate  stove,  heated  as  hot  as  i 
furnace  ;  and  so  Lincoln's  book  went  up  to  th  3 
clouds  in  smoke.  It  is  confessed  by  all  who  heard 
parts  of  it  that  it  was  at  once  able  and  eloquent ; 
and,  if  I  may  judge  of  it  from  Mr.  Lincoln's  subse 
quent  ideas  and  opinions,  often  expressed  to  me  and 
to  others  in  my  presence,  it  was  able,  strong,  plair , 
and  fair.  His  argument  was  grounded  on  th?, 
internal  mistakes  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments, 
and  on  reason  and  on  the  experiences  and  observa 
tions  of  men.  The  criticisms  from  internal  defects 
were  sharp,  strong,  and  manly. 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  moved  to  this  city  in  1837,  and  hero 
became  acquainted  with  various  men  of  his  own  way 
of  thinking.  At  that  time  they  called  themselves 
Freethinkers,  or  free  thinking  men.  I  remember  all 
these  things  distinctly  ;  for  I  was  with  them,  heard 
them,  and  was  one  of  them.  Mr.  Lincoln  here  found 
other  works — Hume,  Gibbon,  and  others — and  drank 
them  in.  He  made  no  secret  of  his  views  ;  no  con 
cealment  of  his  religion.  He  boldly  avowed  himself 
an  Infidel. 

"  When  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  candidate  for  our 
Legislature,  he  was  accused  of  being  an  Infidel  and 
of  having  said  that  Jesus  Christ  was  an  illegitimate 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN  ?  103 

child.  He  never  denied  his  opinions  nor  flinched 
from  his  religious  views.  He  was  a  true  man,  and 
yet  it  may  be  truthfully  said  that  in  1837  his  religion 
was  low  indeed.  In  his  moments  of  gloom  he  would 
doubt,  if  he  did  not  sometimes  deny,  God. 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  ran  for  Congress  against  the  Rev. 
Peter  Cartwright  in  the  year  1846.  In  that  contest 
he  was  accused  of  being  an  Infidel,  if  not  an  Atheist. 
He  never  denied  the  charge — would  not — '  would  die 
first/  In  the  first  place,  because  he  knew  it  could 
and  would  be  proved  on  him ;  and  in  the  second 
place,  he  was  too  true  to  his  own  convictions,  to  his 
own  soul,  to  deny  it. 

"  When  Mr.  Lincoln  left  this  city  for  Washington, 
I  knew  he  had  undergone  no  change  in  his  religious 
opinions  or  views.  He  held  many  of  the  Christian 
ideas  in  abhorrence,  and  among  them  there  was  this 
one,  namely,  that  God  would  forgive  the  sinner  for  a 
violation  of  his  laws.  Lincoln  maintained  that  God 
could  not  forgive  ;  that  punishment  has  to  follow  the 
sin  ;  that  Christianity  was  wrong  in  teaching  for 
giveness. 

"From  what  I  know  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  from 
what  I  have  heard  and  verily  believe,  I  can  say,  first, 
that  he  did  not  believe  in  a  special  creation,  his  idea 
being  that  all  creation  was  an  evolution  under  law ; 
secondly,  that  he  did  not  believe  that  the  Bible  was 
a  special  revelation  from  God,  as  the  Christian  world 


104  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

contends  ;  thirdly,  he  did  not  believe  in  miracles  as 
understood  by  Christians ;  fourthly,  he  believed  i  i 
universal  inspiration  and  miracles  under  law  ;  fifthly, 
he  did  not  believe  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ,  the  so  i 
of  God,  as  the  Christian  church  contends;  sixthh, 
he  believed  that  all  things,  both  matter  and  mind, 
were  governed  by  laws,  universal,  absolute,  and 
eternal.  All  his  speeches  and  remarks  in  Washing 
ton  conclusively  prove  this.  Law  was  to  Lincoln 
everything,  and  special  interferences,  shams  and 
delusions." 

In  1874  Mr.  Herndon  delivered  in  Springfield  a 
lecture  on  "  Lincoln's  Religion. "  It  was  a  reply  to 
Reed's  lecture,  and  was  published  in  the  State  Reg 
ister,  of  Springfield.  In  this  lecture  he  reaffirms  the; 
statements  made  in  the  "  Abbott  Letter,"  supports 
them  with  substantial  arguments  and  proofs,  and 
completely  overthrows  the  claims  advanced  by  Reed. 
From  it  I  quote  the  following : 

"  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  when  any  man  by  his 
genius,  good  fortune,  or  otherwise  rises  to  public 
notice  and  to  fame,  it  does  not  make  much  differ 
ence  what  life  he  has  led,  that  the  whole  Christian 
world  claims  him  as  a  Christian,  to  be  forever  held 
up  to  view  as  a  hero  and  a  saint  during  all  the  com 
ing  ages,  just  as  if  religion  would  die  out  of  the  soul 
of  man  unless  the  great  dead  be  canonized  as  a 
model  Christian.  This  is  a  species  of  hero  or  saint 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN  ?  105 

worship.  Lincoln  they  are  determined  *o  enthrone 
among  the  saints,  to  be  forever  worshiped  as  such." 

"  I  believe  that  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not  late  in  life 
become  a  firm  believer  in  the  Christian  religion. 
What!  Mr.  Lincoln  discard  his  logical  faculties  and 
reason  with  his  heart  ?  What !  Mr.  Lincoln  believe 
that  Jesus  was  the  Christ  of  God,  the  true  and  only 
begotten  son  of  him,  as  the  Christian  creed  contends  ? 
What!  Mr.  Lincoln  believe  that  the  New  Testa 
ment  is  of  special  divine  authority,  and  fully  and 
infallibly  inspired,  as  the  Christian  contends? 
W7hat!  Mr.  Lincoln  abandon  his  lifelong  ideas  of 
universal,  eternal  and  absolute  laws  and  contend 
that  the  New  Testament  is  any  more  inspired  than 
Homer's  poems,  than  Milton's  *  Paradise  Lost,'  than 
Shakspere,  than  his  own  eloquent  and  inspired 
oration  at  Gettysburg  ?  Wrhat !  Mr.  Lincoln  believe 
that  the  great  Creator  had  connection  through  the 
form  and  instrumentality  of  a  shadow  with  a  Jewish 
girl  ?  Blasphemy  !  These  things  must  be  believed 
and  acknowledged  in  order  to  be  a  Christian." 

"  One  word  concerning  this  discussion  about  Mr. 
Lincoln's  religious  views.  It  is  important  in  this  : 
1.  It  settles  a  historic  fact.  2.  It  makes  it  possible 
to  write  a  true  history  of  a  man  free  from  the  fear  of 
fire  and  stake.  3.  It  assures  the  reading  public 
that  the  life  of  Mr.  Lincoln  will  be  truly  written. 
4.  It  will  be  a  warning  forever  to  all  untrue  men, 


106  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  I 

that  the  life  they  have  lived  will  be  held  up  to  vie  >v. 
5.  It  should  convince  the  Christian  pulpit  and  press 
that  it  is  impossible  in  this  day  and  generation,  it 
least  in  America,  to  daub  up  sin,  and  make  a  hero 
out  of  a  fool,  a  knave,  or  a  villain,  which  Mr.  Linco  n 
was  not.  Some  true  spirit  will  drag  the  fraud  ai  d 
lie  out  to  the  light  of  da}r.  6.  Its  tendency  will  be 
to  arrest  and  put  a  stop  to  romantic  biographies. 
And  now  let  it  be  written  in  history,  and  on  Mr. 
Lincoln's  tomb  :  ;  He  died  an  unbeliever.' ' 

In  January,  1883,  Mr.  Herndon  contributed  an 
article  on  "  Lincoln's  Religion  "  to  the  Liberal  Ag<^ 
of  Milwaukee.  From  this  article  the  following  ex 
tracts  are  taken  and  submitted : 

"  In  1837,  Mr.  Lincoln  moved  to  the  city  of  Spring 
field,  and  there  came  across  many  people  of  his  own 
belief.  They  called  themselves  at  that  time  Free 
thinkers.  Some  of  these  men  were  highly  educated 
and  polished  gentlemen.  Mr.  Lincoln  read  in  this 
city  Hume,  Gibbon,  and  other  Liberal  books.  He 
was  in  this  city  from  1837  to  1861,  an  Infidel — Free 
thinker — Liberal — Free  Religionist — of  the  radical 
type." 

"  In  his  philosophy,  he  was  a  realist,  as  opposed 
to  an  idealist ;  he  was  a  sensationalist,  as  opposed  to 
an  intuitionalist ;  and  was  a  materialist  as  opposed 
to  a  spiritualist." 

"  Some  good  men  and  women  say  that  Mr.  Lincoln 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  107 

was  a  Christian,  because  he  was  a  moral  man.  They 
say  that  he  was  a  rational  Christian,  because  he  loved 
morality.  Do  not  other  people,  who  are  not  Chris 
tians,  love  morality  ?  Morality  is  not  the  test  of 
Christianity,  by  any  means.  If  it  is  the  test,  then 
all  moral  men,  Atheists,  Agnostics,  Infidels,  Moham 
medans,  Buddhists,  Mormons,  and  the  rest,  are 
Christians.  A  rational  Christian  is  an  anomaly,  an 
impossibility ;  because  when  reason  is  left  free,  it 
demands  proofs — it  relies  on  experience,  observa 
tion,  logic,  nature,  laws.  Why  not  call  Mr.  Lincoln 
a  rational  Buddhist,  a  rational  Mohammedan,  a 
rational  Confucian,  a  rational  Mormon,  for  all  these, 
if  true  to  their  faith,  love  morality." 

"  Did  Mr.  Lincoln  believe  in  prayer  as  a  means  of 
moving  God  ?  It  is  said  to  me  by  Christians,  touch 
ing  his  religion  :  *  Did  not  he,  in  his  parting  speech 
in  Springfield,  in  1861,  say,  •'  I  hope  3*011,  my  friends, 
will  pray  that  I  may  receive,'*  etc.?'  and  to  which  I 
say,  yes.  In  his  last  Inaugural  he  said  :  *  Fondly 
do  we  hope,  fervently  do  we  pray.'  These  ex 
pressions  are  merely  conventional.  They  do  not 
prove  that  Mr.  Lincoln  believed  that  prayer  is  a 
means  of  moving  God.  .  .  .  He  believed,  as  I 
understood  him,  that  human  prayer  did  the  prayer 
good  ;  that  prayer  was  but  a  drum  beat — the  taps  of 
the  spirit  on  the  living  human  soul,  arousing  it  to  acts 
of  repentance  for  bad  deeds  done,  or  to  inspire  it  to  a 

0* 


108  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

loftier  and  a  higher  effort  for  a  nobler  and  a  grander 
life." 

"  Did  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  his  said  Inaugural,  say : 
'  Both  read  the  same  Word  of  God  ?'  No,  because 
that  would  be  admitting  revelation.  He  said  :  '  Both 
read  the  same  Bible.'  Did  Mr.  Lincoln  say  :  'Y«;t 
if  God  wills  that  it  [the  war]  continue  till  all  tl  e 
wealth  piled  by  the  bondman's  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk,  and  until 
every  drop  of  blood  drawn  by  the  lash  shall  be  paid 
with  another  drawn  by  the  sword,  as  ivas  said  by  Gid 
three  thousand  years  ago  ?'  He  did  not ;  he  w«r,s 
cautious,  and  said :  '  As  ivas  said  three  thousand 
years  ago.'  Jove  never  nods." 

A  little  later  Mr.  Herndon  wrote  an  article  entitled, 
"  Abraham  Lincoln's  Religious  Belief,"  which 
appeared  in  the  Truth  Seeker  of  New  York.  From 
this  article  I  quote  the  following  passages  : 

"In  1842  I  heard  Mr.  Lincoln  deliver  a  speech 
before  the  Washingtonian  Temperance  Society,  of 
this  city.  .  .  .  He  scored  the  Christians  for  the 
position  they  had  taken.  He  said  in  that  lecture 
this  :  'If  they  [the  Christians]  believe,  as  they  pro 
fess — that  Omnipotence  condescended  to  take  on 
himself  the  form  of  sinful  man,'  etc.  This  was 
spoken  with  energy.  He  scornfully  and  contempt 
uously  emphasized  the  words  a-s  they  profess.  The 
rebuke  was  as  much  in  the  manner  of  utterance  as 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  109 

in  the  substance  of  what  was  said.  I  heard  the 
criticisms  of  some  of  the  Christians  that  night. 
They  said  the  speech  was  an  insult  and  an  outrage." 

"  It  is  my  opinion  that  no  man  ever  heard  Mr. 
Lincoln  pray,  in  the  true  evangelical  sense  of  that 
word.  His  philosophy  is  against  all  human  prayer, 
as  a  means  of  reversing  God's  decrees." 

'•  He  has  told  me  often  that  there  was  no  freedom 
in  the  human  will,  and  no  punishment  beyond  this 
world.  He  denied  God's  higher  law,  and  wrote  on 
the  margin  of  a  newspaper  to  his  friends  in  the 
Chicago  convention  in  1860,  this  :  '  Lincoln  agrees 
with  Seward  in  his  irrepressible-conflict  idea ;  but 
he  is  opposed  to  Seward's  higher  laiv.'  This  paper 
was  handed  to  Judge  Davis,  Judge  Logan,  and  other 
friends." 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  and  a  minister,  whose  name  is  kept 
in  the  dark,  had  a  conversation  about  religion.  It  ap 
pears  that  Mr.  Lincoln  said  that  when  his  son — bone 
of  his  bone,  flesh  of  his  flesh,  and  blood  of  his  own 
heart — died,  though  a  severe  affliction,  it  did  not 
arouse  him  to  think  of  Christ ;  but  when  he  saw  the 
graves  of  so  many  soldiers — strangers  to  him —  . 
.  .  that  sad  sight  aroused  him  to  love  Jesus.  .  . 
.  It  is  a  fine  thing  for  the  reputation  of  the  *  Illinois 
Clergyman  '  that  his  name  is  to  the  world  unknown. 
It  is  a  most  heartless  thing,  this  supposed  conversa 
tion  of  Lincoln  with  the  Illinois  clergyman.  What ! 


110  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  : 

Lincoln  feel  more  for  the  graves  of  strangers  tha:i 
for  the  death  of  his  once  living,  loving,  and  lovable 
son,  now  dead,  moldering  to  ashes  in  the  silent 
tomb  !  The  charge  is  barbarous.  To  make  LincoLi 
a  lover  of  Jesus,  whom  he  once  ridiculed,  this 
minister  makes  him  a  savage." 

"  I  wish  to  give  an  illustration  of  the  uncertainty 
and  unreliability  of  those  loose  things  that  float 
around  in  the  newspapers  of  the  day,  and  how  liable 
things  are  to  be  inaccurate — so  made  even  by  th  3 
best  of  men.  Mr.  Lincoln  on  the  morning  he  started 
for  Washington  to  take  the  oath  of  office,  and  be  in 
augurated  President  of  this  great  Eepublic,  gave  ;i 
short  farewell  address  to  his  old  friends.  It  wa>j 
eloquent  and  touching.  That  speech  is  copied  in 
Holland's  '  Life  of  Lincoln,'  in  Arnold's  '  Lincoln 
and  Slavery,'  and  in  Lamon's  '  Life  of  Lincoln,'  and 
no  two  are  exactly  alike.  If  it  is  hard  to  get  the, 
exact  truth  on  such  an  occasion  as  this,  how  impos 
sible  is  it  to  get  at  Mr.  Lincoln's  sayings  which  have 
been  written  out  by  men  weeks  and  months  after 
what  he  did  say  have  passed  by  !  All  these  looso 
and  foolish  things  that  Mr.  Lincoln  is  supposed  to 
have  said  are  like  the  cords  of  driftwood,  floating  on 
the  bosom  of  the  groat  Mississippi,  down  to  the 
great  gulf  of — Forgetfulness.  Let  them  go." 

Herndon's  "  Life  of  Lincoln,"  is  a  most  important 
contribution  to  biographical  literature.  It  will 


WAS   HE  A   CHRISTIAN?  Ill 

enable  the  present  and  future  generations  to  become 
better  acquainted  with  Lincoln  the  man  than  with 
any  other  prominent  American.  The  author  has 
performed  substantially  the  same  work  for  Lincoln 
that  Boswell  performed  for  Johnson ;  only  he  has 
performed  it  more  faithfully.  Political  partisans 
and  religious  bigots  may  condemn  the  work,  but  im 
partial  critics  are  almost  unanimous  in  their  praise 
of  it. 

The  metropolitan  journals  of  Lincoln's  and  Hern- 
don's  own  state  commend  the  work.  The  Chicago 
Tribune  says :  "  All  these  loving  adherents  [of  Lin 
coln]  will  hail  Herndon's  '  Lincoln '  with  unmixed, 
unbounded  joy."  The  Chicago  Times  says  :  "  Hern 
don's  'Life'  is  the  best  yet  written."  The  Inter 
Ocean  says  that  Herndon  "  knew  more  of  Lincoln's 
inner  life  than  any  living  man."  The  Chicago  Herald 
says :  "  It  enables  one  to  approach  more  closely  to 
the  great  President."  The  Chicago  Evening  Journal 
says  :  "  It  presents  a  truthful  and  living  picture  of 
the  greatest  of  Americans." 

The  Nation  thus  refers  to  it :  "  The  sincerity  and 
honesty  of  the  biographer  appear  on  every  page." 
The  New  York  Sun  says  :  "  The  marks  of  unflinch 
ing  veracity  are  patent  in  every  line."  The  Wash 
ington  Capital  says  that  it  places  "  Lincoln  before 
the  world  as  he  really  was."  The  Commercial 
Gazette,  of  Cincinnati,  says :  "  He  describes  the  life 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN : 

of  his  friend  Lincoln  just  as  lie  saw  it."  The  Morn 
ing  Calif  of  San  Francisco,  affirms  that  it  "  contains 
the  only  true  history  of  the  lamented  President." 
The  St.  Louis  Republic  says  :  "  It  will  do  more  ]o 
shape  the  judgment  of  posterity  on  Mr.  Lincoln's 
character  than  all  that  has  been  written  or  will  l)e 
hereafter  written." 

In  this  work  Mr.  Herndon  states  in  brief  the  sub 
stance  of  the  articles  already  quoted  in  this  chapter. 
I  quote  as  follows  : 

"No  man  had  a  stronger  or  firmer  faith  in  Provi 
dence — God — than  Mr.  Lincoln,  but  the  continued 
use  by  him  late  in  life  of  the  word  God  must  not  be 
interpreted  to  mean  that  he  believed  in  a  per 
sonal  God.  In  1854  he  asked  me  to  erase  the  word 
God  from  a  speech  which  I  had  written  and  read  to 
him  for  criticism,  because  my  language  indicated  a 
personal  God,  whereas  he  insisted  that  no  such  per 
sonality  ever  existed  "  (Life  of  Lincoln,  pp.  445,  446;. 

"The  world  has  always  insisted  on  making  an 
orthodox  Christian  of  him,  and  to  analyze  his 
language  or  sound  his  belief  is  but  to  break  the  idol  " 
(Ibid). 

"  The  benevolence  of  his  impulses,  the  seriousness 
of  his  convictions,  and  the  nobility  of  his  character, 
are  evidences  unimpeachable  that  his  soul  was  ever 
filled  with  the  exalted  purity  and  the  sublime  faith 
of  natural  religion  "  (Ib.). 


WAS    HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  113 


CHAPTEK    VI. 

TESTIMONY  OF   HON.  WILLIAM  H.  HERNDOX — UNPUBLISHED 
TESTIMONY. 

Extracts  from  Herndon's  Letters — The  Books  Lincoln  Read — His 
Philosophy — His  Infidelity — Refutation  of  Christian  Claims — Attempts 
to  Invalidate  Herndon's  Testimony — Reed's  Calumnies — Vir  dication. 

IN  the  preceding  chapter  has  been  submitted  the 
evidence  of  Mr.  Herndon  that  has  already  been  pub 
lished.  In  this  chapter  will  be  presented  some 
hitherto  unpublished  testimony. 

The  writer  corresponded  with  Mr.  Herndon  for 
many  years.  Much  of  this  correspondence  related  to 
Abraham  Lincoln,  and  no  inconsiderable  portion  of 
it  to  the  subject  under  consideration.  Permission 
was  granted  by  Mr.  Herndon  to  use  such  parts  of 
this  correspondence  as  may  be  deemed  of  value. 
The  limits  of  this  work  preclude  the  presentation  of 
much  that  is  really  interesting,  but  no  apology  is 
needed  for  devoting  space  to  the  following  extracts 
from  his  letters,  written  at  various  intervals  between 
1880  and  1890  : 

"  I  was  the  personal  friend  of  Mr.  Lincoln  from 
1834  to  the  day  of  his  death.  In  1843  we  entered 


114  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN; 

into  a  partnership  which  was  never  formally  dis 
solved.  When  he  became  unpopular  in  this  Con 
gressional  district  because  of  his  speeches  on  the 
Mexican  war,  I  was  faithful  to  him.  When  he 
espoused  the  antislavery  cause  and  in  the  eyes  of 
most  men  had  hopelessly  ruined  his  political  pros 
pects,  I  stood  by  him,  and  through  the  press  defended 
his  course.  In  these  dark  hours,  by  our  unity  of 
sentiment  and  by  political  ostracism  we  were  driven 
to  a  close  and  enduring  friendship.  You  should  take 
it  for  granted,  then,  that  I  knew  Mr.  Lincoln  wel  . 
During  all  this  time,  from  1834  to  1862,  when  I  last 
saw  him,  he  never  intimated  tome,  either  directly  or 
indirectly,  that  he  had  changed  his  religious  opinions. 
Had  he  done  so — had  he  let  drop  one  word  or  look 
in  that  direction,  I  should  have  detected  it. 

"  I  had  an  excellent  private  library,  probably  tho 
best  in  the  city  for  admired  books.  To  this  library 
Mr.  Lincoln  had,  as  a  matter  of  course,  full  and  freo 
access  at  all  times.  I  purchased  such  books  as 
Locke,  Kant,  Fichte,  Lewes  ;  Sir  Wm.  Hamilton's 
*  Discussions  on  Philosophy ;'  Spencer's  *  First 
Principles,'  '  Social  Statics,'  etc.;  Buckle's  '  History 
of  Civilization,'  and  Lecky's  'History  of  Rational 
ism.'  I  also  possessed  the  works  of  Parker,  Paine, 
Emerson,  and  Strauss  ;  Gregg's  '  Creed  of  Christen 
dom,'  McNaught  on  Inspiration,  Volney's  '  Ruins,1 
Feuerbach's  'Essence  of  Christianity,'  and  other 


WAS   HE  A   CHRISTIAN?  115 


works  on  Infidelity.  Mr.  Lincoln  read  some  of 
works.  About  the  year  1£43  he  borrowed  '  The  Ves 
tiges  of  Creation'  of  Mr.  James  TT.  Keys,  of  this 
city,  and  read  it  carefully.  He  subsequently  read 
the  sixth  edition  of  this  work,  which  I  loaned  him. 
Mr.  Lincoln  had  always  denied  special  creation,  but 
from  his  want  of  education  he  did  not  know  just 
what  to  believe.  He  adopted  the  progressive  and 
development  theory  as  taught  more  or  less  directly 
in  that  work.  He  despised  speculation,  especially 
in  the  metaphysical  world.  He  was  purely  a  prac 
tical  man.  He  adopted  Locke's  notions  as  his  system 
of  mental  philosophy,  with  some  modifications  to 
suit  his  own  views.  He  held  that  reason  drew  her 
inferences  as  to  law,  etc-,  from  observation,  experi 
ence,  and  reflection  on  the  facts  and  phenomena  of 
nature.  He  was  a  pure  sensationalist,  except  as  above. 
He  was  a  materialist  in  his  philosophy.  He  denied 
dualism,  and  at  times  immortality  in  any  sense. 

"  Before  I  wrote  my  Abbott  letter  I  diligently 
<y^rftJM*i  through  Lincoln's  letters,  speeches,  state 
papers,  etc.,  to  fia-1  the  word  immortality  ,  and  I  could 
uot  find  it  anywhere  except  in  his  letter  to  his 
father.  The  word  immortality  appears  but  once  in 
his  writings." 

"  If  he  had  been  asked  the  plain  question,  *  Do 
you  know  that  a  God  exists  ?'  he  would  have  said  : 
•  I  do  not  know  that  a  God  exists.'  " 


116  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN: 

"  At  one  moment  of  his  life  I  know  that  lie  was  an 
Atheist.  I  was  preparing  a  speech  on  Kansas,  and 
in  it,  like  nearly  all  reformers,  I  invoked  God.  He 
made  me  wipe  out  that  word  and  substitute  the  wo  :d 
Maker,  affirming  that  said  Maker  was  a  principle  of 
the  universe.  When  he  went  to  Washington  he  did 
the  same  to  a  friend  there." 

"Mr.  Lincoln  told  me,  over  and  over,  that  man 
lias  no  freedom  of  will,  or,  as  he  termed  it,  'No  man 
has  a  freedom  of  mind.'  He  was  in  one  sense  a 
fatalist,  and  so  died.  He  believed  that  he  w,is 
under  the  thumb  of  Providence  (which  to  him  was 
but  another  name  for  fate).  The  longer  he  lived  the 
more  firmly  he  believed  it,  and  hence  his  oft  inv.oc.i- 
tions  of  God.  But  these  invocations  are  no  evidence 
to  a  rational  mind  that  he  adopted  the  blasphemy 
that  God  seduced  his  own  daughter,  begat  a  son  on 
purpose  to  have  mankind  kill  him,  in  order  that  he, 
God,  might  become  reconciled  to  his  own  mistakes, 
according  to  the  Christian  view." 

''Lincoln  would  wait  patiently  on  the  flow  and 
logic  of  events.  He  believed  that  conditions  mako 
the  man  and  not  man  the  conditions.  Under  his 
own  hand  he  says  :  'I  attempt  no  compliment  to  niy 
own  sagacity.  I  claim  not  to  have  controled  events, 
but  confess  plainly  that  events  have  controled  me.' 
He  believed  in  the  supreme  reign  of  law.  This  law 
fated  things,  as  he  would  express  it.  Now,  Low 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  117 

could  a  man  be  a  Christian — could  believe  that  Jesus 
Christ  was  God — could  believe  in  the  efficacy  of 
prayer — and  entertain  such  a  belief?" 

"He  did  not  believe  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer, 
although  he  used  that  conventional  language.  He 
said  in  Washington,  '  God  has  his  own  purposes.' 
If  God  has  his  own  purposes,  then  prayer  will  not 
change  God's  purposes." 

"I  have  often  said  to  you,  and  now  repeat  it,  that 
Lincoln  was  a  scientific  Materialist,  i.e.,  that  this 
was  his  tendency  as  opposed  to  the  Spiritualistic 
idea.  Lincoln  always  contended  that  general  and 
universal  laws  ruled  the  universe — always  did — do 
now — and  ever  will.  He  was  an  Agnostic  generally, 
sometimes- an  Atheist." 

"  That  Mr.  Lincoln  was  an  Infidel  from  1834  to 
1861,  I  know,  and  that  he  remained  one  to  the  day 
of  his  death,  I  honestly  believe.  I  always  under 
stood  that  he  was  an  Infidel,  sometimes  bordering 
on  Atheism.  I  never  saw  any  change  in  the  man, 
and  the  change  could  not  have  escaped  my  observa 
tion  had  it  happened." 

"  Lincoln's  task  was  a  terrible  one.  When  he  took 
the  oath  of  office  his  soul  was  bent  on  securing  har 
mony  among  all  the  people  of  the  North,  and  so  he 
chose  for  his  Cabinet  officers  his  opponents  for  the 
Presidential  candidacy  in  order  and  as  a  means  of 
creating  a  united  North.  He  let  all  parties,  profes- 


118  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

sions,  and  callings  have  their  way  where  their  wishes 
did  not  cut  across  his  own.  He  was  apparently* 
pliant  and  supple.  He  ruled  men  when  men  thought 
they  were  ruling  him.  He  often  said  to  me  that  the 
Christian  religion  was  a  dangerous  element  to  deal 
with  when  aroused.  He  saw  in  the  Kansas  affairs — 
in  the  whole  history  of  slavery,  in  fact — its  rigor 
and  encroachments,  that  Christianity  was  arouseu. 
It  must  be  controled,  and  that  in  the  right  directioi .. 
Hence  he  bent  to  it,  fed  it,  and  kept  it  within  bounds, 
well  knowing  that  it  would  crush  his  administra 
tion  to  atoms  unless  appeased.  His  oft  and 
oft  invocations  of  God,  his  conversations  with 
Christians,  his  apparent  respect  for  Chris 
tianity,  etc.,  were  all  means  to  an  end.  And 
yet  sometimes  he  showed  that  he  hated  its  nasal 
whines." 

"A  gentleman  of  veracity  in  Washington  told  me 
this  story  and  vouched  for  its  truthfulness  :  '  A  tall 
saddle-faced  man,'  said  he,  '  came  to  Washington  to 
pray  with  Lincoln,  having  declared  this  to  be  his 
intention  at  the  hotel  About  10  o'clock  A.M.  the 
bloodless  man,  dressed  in  black  with  white  cravat, 
went  to  the  White  House,  sent  in  his  card,  and  was 
admitted.  Lincoln  glanced  at  the  man  and  knew  his 
motives  in  an  instant.  He  said  to  him  angrily  : 
"What,  have  you,  too,  come  to  torment  me  with 
your  prayers  ?  "  The  man  was  squelched — said,  "  No, 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  119 

Mr.  Lincoln  " — lied  out  and  out.  Lincoln  spoiled 
those  prayers.' ' 

"Mr.  Lincoln  was  thought  to  be  understood  by 
the  mob.  But  what  a  delusion  !  He  was  one  of  the 
most  reticent  men  that  ever  lived.  All  of  us — Stuart, 
Speed,  Logan,  Matheny,  myself,  and  others,  had  to 
guess  at  much  of  the  man.  He  was  a  mystery  to  the 
world — a  sphinx  to  most  men.  One  peculiarity  of 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  his  irritability  when  anyone  tried 
to  peep  into  his  own  mind's  laboratory.  Consider 
ing  all  this,  what  can  be  thought  of  the  stories  about 
what  he  is  said  to  have  confided  to  strangers  in 
regard  to  his  religion  ?  " 

"  Not  one  of  Lincoln's  old  acquaintances  in  this 
city  ever  heard  of  his  conversion  to  Christianity  by 
Dr.  Smith  or  anyone  else.  It  was  never  suggested 
nor  thought  of  here  until  after  his  death." 

"  I  never  saw  him  read  a  second  of  time  in  Dr. 
Smith's  book  on  Infidelity.  He  threw  it  down  upon 
our  table — spit  upon  it  as  it  were — and  never  opened 
it  to  my  knowledge." 

"  My  opinion  is,  from  what  I  have  heard  and  know, 
that  these  men — Gurley  and  Simpson — refused  to  be 
a  party  to  a  fraud  on  the  public  touching  Lincoln's 
religion.  I  think  that  they  understood  each  other 
the  day  that  the  remains  of  Lincoln  were  put  to 
rest." 

"  Holland  came  into  my  office,  in  1865,  and   asked 


120  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  I 

me  tins  question  :  '  What  about  Mr.  Lincoln's  Chris 
tianity  ?  '  To  this,  I  replied  :  'The  less  said  about 
it  the  better.'  Holland  then  said  to  me,  'Oh,  never 
mind,  I'll  fix  that,'  and  went  over  to  Bateman  an  1 
had  it  fixed." 

"Lincoln  never  revealed  to  Judge  Davis,  Judge 
Matheny,  Joshua  F.  Speed,  Joseph  Gillespie,  nor 
myself  that  he  was  a  Christian,  or  that  he  had  ;i 
change  of  heart,  or  anything  like  it,  at  any  time. 
Now,  taking  into  consideration  the  fact  that  he  was 
one  of  the  most  non-communicative  of  men — that 
Bateman  was,  as  it  were,  a  mere  stranger  to  him-- 
that  Bateman  was  frightened,  excited,  conscience- 
smitten  when  I  approached  him  on  the  subject,  and 
that  in  after  years  he  confessed  to  me  that  his  notes 
in  Holland's  '  Life  of  Lincoln '  ivere  colored — taking 
all  this  into  consideration,  I  say,  can  you  belie vo 
Bateman's  story  to  be  true  ?  " 

"I  see  quoted  frequently  a  supposed  speech  made 
bv  Mr.  Lincoln  to  the  colored  people  of  Baltimore, 
on  the  presentation,  of  a  Bible  to  him.  This  sup 
posed  speech  contains  the  following  :  '  All  the  good 
from  the  Savior  of  the  world  is  communicated  to  us 
through  this  book.'  This  idea  is  false  and  foolish. 
What  becomes  of  nine-tenths  of  the  life  of  Jesus  of 
which  we  have  no  history — nine-tenths  of  the  great 
facts  of  this  grand  man's  life  not  recorded  in  this 
book?  Mr.  Lincoln  was  full  and  exact  in  his 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  121 

language.  He  never  used  the  word  Savior,  unless  in 
a  conventional  sense  ;  in  fact,  he  never  used  the  word 
at  all.  Again,  he  is  made  to  say  :  '  But  for  this  book 
we  could  not  know  right  from  wrong.'  The  lowest 
organized  life,  I  was  about  to  say,  knows  right  from 
wrong  in  its  particular  sphere.  Every  good  dog  that 
comes  into  possession  of  a  bone,  knows  that  that 
bone  belongs  to  him,  and  he  knows  that  it  is  wrong 
for  another  dog  to  rob  him  of  it.  He  protests  with 
bristling  hair  and  glistening  teeth  against  such  dog 
robbery.  It  requires  no  revelation  to  teach  him 
right  from  wrong  in  the  dog  world ;  yet  it  requires  a 
special  revelation  from  God  to  teach  us  right  from 
wrong  in  the  human  world.  According  to  this 
speech,  the  dog  has  the  advantage.  But  Mr.  Lincoln 
never  uttered  such  nonsense." 

"  I  do  think  that  anyone  who  knew  Mr.  Lincoln — 
his  history — his  philosophy — his  opinions — and  still 
asserts  that  he  was  a  Christian,  is  an  unbounded 
falsifier.  I  hate  to  speak  thus  plainly,  but  I  cannot 
respect  an  untruthful  man." 

"  Let  me  ask  the  Christian  claimant  a  few  ques 
tions.  Do  you  mean  to  say,  when  you  assert  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  Christian,  that  he  believed  tlmt 
Jesus  was  the  Christ  of  God,  as  the  evangelical 
world  contends  ?  If  so,  where  do  you  get  your 
information?  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
wss  a  converted  man  and  that  he  so  declared  ?  If  so, 


122  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN ! 

where,  when,  and  before  whom  did  he  declare  or 
reveal  it?  Do  you  mean  to  say  that  Mr.  Lincoln 
joined  a  church?  If  so,  what  church  did  he  join, 
and  when  did  he  join  it?  Do  you  mean  to  say  thav, 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  secret  Christian,  acting  under  tho 
cloak  of  the  devil  to  advance  Christianity  ?  If  so, 
what  is  your  authority?  If  you  will  tell  me  when  ii; 
was  that  the  Creator  caught  with  his  almighty  arms, 
Abraham,  and  held  him  fast  while  he  poured  the  oi 
of  grace  on  his  rebellious  soul,  then  I  will  know 
when  it  was  that  he  was  converted  from  his  Infide< 
views  to  Christianity." 

"  The  best  evidence  this  side  of  Lincoln's  own 
written  statement  that  he  was  an  Infidel,  if  not  an 
Atheist,  as  claimed  by  some,  is  the  fact  that  he  never 
mentions  the  name  of  Jesus.  If  he  was  a  Christian 
Jt  could  be  proved  by  his  letters  and  speeches.  That 
man  is  a  poor  defender  of  a  principle,  of  a  person,  or 
of  a  thing,  who  never  mentions  that  principle,  person, 
or  thing.  I  have  never  seen  the  name  of  Jesus  men 
tioned  by  Mr.  Lincoln." 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  never  mentioned  the  name  of  Christ 
in  his  letters  and  speeches  as  a  Christian.  I  h<tve 
searched  for  such  evidence,  but  could  not  find  it.  I 
have  had  others  search,  but  they  could  not  .find  it. 
This  dead  silence  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Lincoln  is  over 
whelming  proof  that  he  was  an  unbeliever." 

"  While    Lincoln    frequently,    in    a    conventional 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  123 

way,  appeals  to  God,  he  never  appeals  to  Christ  nor 
mentions  him.  I  know  that  he  at  first  maintained 
that  Jesus  was  a  bastard,  and  later  that  he  was  the 
son  of  Joseph  and  not  of  God." 

"Lincoln  was  not  a  Christian  in  any  sense  other 
than  That  he  lived  a  good  life  and  was  a  noble  man. 
If  a  good  life  constitutes  one  a  Christian,  then  Mill 
and  a  million  other  men  who  repudiated  and  denied 
Christianity  were  Christians,  for  they  lived  good  and 
noble  lives." 

"  If  Mr.  Lincoln  changed  his  religious  views  he 
owed  it  to  me  to  warn  me,  as  he  above  all  other  men 
caused  me  to  be  an  unbeliever.  He  said  nothing  to 
me,  intimated  nothing  to  me,  either  directly  or  in 
directly.  He  owed  this  debt  to  many  young  men 
whom  he  had  led  astray,  if  astray  the  Christian  calls 
it.  I  know  of  two  young  men  of  promise,  now  dead 
and  gone — gone  into  endless  misery,  according  to 
the  evangelical  creed — caused  by  Mr.  Lincoln's 
teachings.  I  know  some  of  the  living  here,  men 
in  prominent  positions  of  life,  who  were  made  un 
believers  by  him." 

"  One  by  one.  these  apocryphal  stories  go  by  the 
board.  Courageous  and  remorseless  criticism  will 
wipe  out  all  these  things.  There  will  not  be  a 
vestige  of  them  in  fifty  years  to  laugh  at  or  to  weep 
at." 

Mr.   Herndon's  testimony,  even  in  the  absence  of 


124  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  I 

all  other  evidence,  is  conclusive.  This  was  recog 
nized  by  the  Christian  claimants  after  the  appear 
ance  of  his  "  Abbott  Letter."  They  employed  various 
measures  to  break  the  force  of  his  testimony  by 
trying  to  induce  him  either  to  retract  or  modify  his 
statements.  But  they  were  not  successful.  He  was 
not  to  be  coaxed,  he  was  not  to  be  purchased,  ho 
was  not  to  be  intimidated.  He  had  stated  the  trutl 
and  by  the  truth  he  proposed  to  stand.  Foiled  ii 
these  efforts,  their  last  resort  was  to  destroy  his 
credibility  as  a  witness  by  destroying  his  character. 
The  most  brazen  falsehoods  were  invented  and  the 
most  cruel  calumnies  circulated  in  order  to  crush 
him.  Some  of  these  stated  that  he  was  a  drunkard, 
others  that  lie  was  a  pauper,  and  still  others  that  he 
had  become  insane. 

These  defamatory  statements  were  usually  first 
noticed  in  some  religious  paper  or  periodical.  From 
this  they  were  naturally  copied  into  the  secular 
papers  and  sent  broadcast  over  the  land.  Journalists 
who  had  once  known  Mr.  Herndon,  either  personally 
or  by  reputation,  were  surprised  and  shocked  at  the 
announcements,  and  wrote  articles  like  the  following 
which  appeared  in  a  Kansas  paper  : 

"  Bill  Herndon  is  a  pauper  in  Springfield,  111.  He 
was  once  worth  considerable  property.  His  mind 
was  the  most  argumentative  of  any  of  the  old  lawyers 
in  the  state,  and  his  memory  was  extraordinary 


WAS   HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  125 

For  several  years  before  Lincoln  was  nominated  for 
the  Presidency,  Herndon  was  in  some  respects  the 
most  active  member  of  the  firm,  preparing  the 
greatest  number  of  cases  for  trial  and  making  elab 
orate  arguments  in  their  behalf.  It  is  said  that  he 
worked  liar  I  with  Lincoln  in  preparing  the  memo 
rable  speeches  delivered  by  the  man  who  afterward 
became  President,  during  the  debates  between  Lin 
coln  and  Douglas  in  1858,  and  in  constructing  the 
Cooper  Institute  address  delivered  by  Lincoln  a 
short  time  before  the  war.  Herndon,  with  all  his 
attainments,  was  a  man  who  now  and  then  went  on 
a  spree.  This  habit  became  worse  after  Lincoln's 
death,  and,  like  poor  Dick  Yates,  he  went  down  step 
by  step  till  his  old  friends  and  associates  point  to 
him  as  a  common  drunkard." 

I  was  in  Springfield  the  very  week  that  this  article 
was  published,  and  passed  a  day  with  Mr.  Herndon 
at  his  home.  I  was  prepared  to  testify,  as  all  his 
neighbors  were,  that  the  charges  it  contained,  to 
gether  with  others  that  were  being  circulated, 
were  false.  I  knew  that  he  still  possessed  a  sound 
and  vigorous  intellect  ;  I  knew  that  he  was  in  com 
fortable  circumstances  financially  ;  I  knew  that  he 
was  an  earnest  advocate  of  temperance,  and  that  he 
practiced  what  he  preached ;  in  short,  I  knew  him 
to  be  a  man  of  pure  morals  and  exemplary  character. 
At  the  very  time  that  he  was  declared  to  be  an  in- 


126  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

mate  of  the  insane  asylum,  the  Old  Settlers'  Society 
selected  him  to  examine  and  report  upon  the  correct 
ness  of  the  "  History  of  Sangamon  County,"  which, 
as  it  included  a  history  of  the  capital  of  the  state 
where,  at  one  time  or  another,  had  resided  a  major 
ity  of  Illinois's  most  gifted  sons,  was  an  important 
work,  and  one  whose  revision  would  not  likely  be 
intrusted  to  a  lunatic.  At  the  very  time  that  he 
was  said  to  be  a  pauper  in  the  county  poorhouse,  he 
was  entertaining  such  distinguished  guests  as 
William  Lloyd  Garrison.  At  the  very  time  that  he 
was  reported  to  be  a  common  drunkard,  his  neigh 
bors  had  just  appointed  him  guardian  of  the  educa 
tional  interests  of  their  children. 

All  efforts  to  trace  these  slanders  to  their  source 
and  discover  their  author  proved  futile  until  1880, 
when  the  writer  of  this  saw  in  an  Ohio  paper  an 
article  on  Lincoln,  in  which  was  quoted  a  portion  of 
a  letter  which  the  contributor  of  the  article  stated 
had  just  been  received  from  the  Rev.  J.  A.  Heed,  of 
Springfield.  It  related  wholly  to  Mr.  Herndon,  and 
did  not  contain  one  fair,  truthful  statement.  In 
thirty  brief  lines  were  concentrated,  in  addition  to 
several  statements  calculated  and  intended  to  de 
ceive,  no  Ifiss  than  sixteen  deliberate  falsehoods, 
some  of  them  of  the  most  cruel  and  infamous  char 
acter.  It  was  evident  that  Reed  had  intended  that 
the  substance  of  his  1-etter  should  be  given  to  the 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  127 

public  without  disclosing  its  authorship.  But, 
thanks  to  the  innocent  credulity  and  indiscreetness 
of  the  friend  to  whom  it  was  sent,  the  defamer  was 
discovered  and  exposed.  And  this  sneaking,  cow 
ardly  assassin  was  the  •'  defender  of  Lincoln's  Chris 
tian  faith!"  Could  the  inanimate  remains  of  Abra 
ham  Lincoln  have  been  revivified  when  this  ex 
posure  was  made,  he  would  have  arisen  from  his 
mausoleum  at  Oak  Ridge,  have  come  into  the  city, 
and  have  kicked  this  pretended  '"defender,"  this 
base  calumniator  of  his  beloved  friend  and  associ 
ate,  out  of  Springfield. 

The  cause  of  all  the  vituperation  which  for  years 
had  been  heaped  upon  Mr.  Herndon  was  now  appar 
ent.  He  had  replied  to  Reed's  lecture,  and  openly, 
honestly,  and  courteously,  but  effectively,  refuted  it : 
and  because  the  latter  could  not  come  forward  with 
a  successful  rejoinder,  he  was  thus  heartlessly  and 
covertly  plunging  a  dagger  into  the  reputation  of  his 
chivalrous  opponent. 

The  intercession  of  friends  secured  for  the  culprit 
immunity  from  arrest  for  libel,  but  in  the  newspapers 
of  his  city  he  received  such  a  castigation  as  he  will 
not  soon  forget.  The  Daily  Monitor,  in  an  editorial 
replying  to  the  slanders  that  were  being  circulated 
concerning  Mr.  Herndon,  said  : 

"  Mr.  Herndon  is  not  a  pauper,  is  not  a  drunkard ; 
whisky  did  not  ruin  him,  and,  in  a  word,  the  whole 


128  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

thing  is  a  lie.  Mr.  Herndon  lives  on  his  farm  near 
this  city.  He  is  a  great  admirer  of  nature,  loves 
flowers,  and  spends  his  whole  time  on  the  farm,  ej  - 
cept  when  doing  his  trading,  or  coming  into  the  ciiy 
to  see  his  children  and  grandchildren.  He  don  t 
drink,  he  don't  chew  tobacco,  he  don't  gamble,  he  is 
honorable  and  truthful,  and  he  is  highly  respecte  1 
by  his  fellow-citizens.  He  is  a  great  reader,  a  great 
thinker,  loves  his  neighbors  and  his  neighbors  love 
him.  He  has  a  great,  big,  kind  heart  for  his  felloe - 
man  in  distress,  and,  while  never  worth  *  consider 
able  property,'  he  has  always  had  enough  for  his 
generous  purposes.  Just  why  this  thing  should  be 
allowed  we  are  at  a  loss  to  know,  and  have  waited  to 
see  if  some  of  those  who  profess  so  much  of  tli-3 
Christ-like  in  their  composition  would  not  have 
enough  of  the  man-like  to  be  men,  and  not  allow  a 
good  and  true  man  as  Mr.  Herndon  is  to  be  thus  in- 
famousl}7  maligned  and  belied  by  those  whose  works 
in  the  salvation  of  men  would  have  more  effect  if 
more  akin  to  Christ  in  practice." 

After  a  life  of  honest  toil,  much  of  it  in  behalf  of 
the  poor  and  the  weak,  without  reward  and  without 
the  expectation  of  reward,  to  be  in  his  old  age  thus 
shamefully  robbed  of  his  good  name,  was  an  outrage 
almost  without  a  parallel,  save  in  the  treatment  re 
ceived  by  Thomas  Paine.  That  -Mr.  Herndon  was 
keenly  sensitive  to  this  great  wrong  is  disclosed  by 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  129 

the  tone  of  his  letters  written  at  the  time.  In  one 
he  says :  "  I  have  done  nothing  in  the  spirit  of  self- 
laudation.  I  prefer  moving  down  the  grooves  of 
time  unnoticed  and  unknown,  except  to  friends.  I 
have  no  ambition  for  fame  or  money.  My  ambition 
is  to  try  to  do  good.  I  spent  ten  or  more  years  of 
my  best  life  for  the  negro,  liberty,  and  union,  not 
forgetting  Kansas  and  her  brave  people.  But  let  it 
all  go ;  I  make  no  complaint.  I  try  to  live  a  moral 
and  a  manly  life,  love  my  fellow  man,  love  freedom, 
love  justice,  and  would  die  for  the  eternal  right." 

As  an  index  of  public  sentiment  in  the  community 
where  the  defamed  and  the  defamer  resided,  I  will 
state  two  facts.  On  a  pleasant  September  evening, 
in  1882,  I  attended  Dr.  Heed's  church  in  Springfield, 
In  that  commodious  edifice,  built  to  accommodate  an 
audience  of  nearly  one  thousand,  I  found  assembled 
to  listen  to  this  renowned  "  defender  of  Lincoln's 
Christian  faith,"  an  audience  of  forty-four  persons. 
About  the  same  time,  in  the  published  report  of  a 
public  meeting  held  near  Springfield,  appeared  the 
following :  '*  Five  thousand  people  hovered  around 
the  speaker's  stand  for  the  purpose  of  listening  to 
the  able,  eloquent,  and  well-known  Hon.  W.  H. 
Herndon." 

It  has  been  charged  that  Mr.  Herndon's  statements 
concerning  Lincoln's  unbelief  were  inspired  by  a 
spirit  of  revenge  in  consequence  of  Lincoln's  not 


130  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

having  recognized  him  with  an  appointment.  This 
charge  and  this  assumption  are  both  false.  Thero 
is  now  on  file  at  Washington  and  at  Springfield  ,i 
telegram  from  Lincoln  tendering  him  a  judgeship, 
which  he  declined. 

To  know  Lincoln  was  to  love  him.  None  knew 
him  better  than  Mr.  Herndon,  and  none  entertained 
a  deeper  affection  for  his  memory.  In  a  letter  to  me, 
dated  Nov.  4,  1881,  he  pays  this  tribute  to  his  dead 
friend : 

"Some  people  say  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  an  un 
grateful  man.  This  is  not  true,  and  especially  when 
applied  to  myself.  He  was  always  kind,  tender,  and 
grateful  to  me — clung  to  me  with  hooks  of  steel.  I 
know  that  I  was  true  to  him.  It  is  said  that  no  man 
is  great  to  his  valet.  If  I  was  Mr.  Lincoln's  valet, 
the  rule  does  not  apply  in  this  case,  for  my  opinion 
of  him  is  too  well  known.  His  was  a  grand,  noble, 
true,  and  manly  life.  He  dreamed  dreams  of  glory, 
and  glory  was  justly  his.  He  was  growing  and  ex 
panding  to  the  day  of  his  death.  He  was  slow  in 
his  development,  but  strong  and  big  when  he  did 
come.  The  last  letter  which  I  ever  received  from 
him  concluded  thus :  '  God  bless  you,  says  your 
friend. — A.  Lincoln'  He  felt  what  he  expressed,  and 
in  return  I  say,  God  bless  you,  Lincoln" 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  131 


CHAPTER  VII. 

TESTIMONY   OF   COL.    WARD    H.    LAMON. 

Lamon's  "  Life  of  Lincoln  " — Lincoln's  Early  Skepticism — His  Inves 
tigations  at  New  Salem — His  Book  on  Infidelity — His  Religious  Opin 
ions  Remain  Unchanged — Holland's  Condemnation  of  Lamon's  Work — 
Holland's  and  Lamon's  Works  Compared. 

IN  1872,  seven  years  after  the  President's  assassi 
nation,  appeared  the  "  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln," 
written  by  Col.  Ward  H.  Lanion.  As  a  faithful 
record  of  the  life  of  one  of  the  most  sublime  char 
acters  in  the  world's  history,  this  work  stands  un 
rivaled.  More  accomplished  writers  have  written 
biography — have  written  the  biography  of  Lincoln. 
But  no  writer  has  ever  been  more  thoroughly  in 
formed  respecting  his  subject,  and  no  writer  has  ever 
made  a  more  conscientious  use  of  the  information  in 
his  possession  than  has  Colonel  Lanion  in  his  "  Life 
of  Lincoln."  In  Illinois  he  was  the  friend  and  con 
fidant  of  Lincoln.  When  the  time  approached  for 
Lincoln  to  take  the  Executive  chair,  and  the  journey 
from  Springfield  to  Washington  was  deemed  a  danger 
ous  undertaking,  to  Colonel  Lamon  was  intrusted  the 
responsible  duty  of  conducting  him  to  the  national 


132  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  ! 

capital.  During  the  eventful  years  that  followed, 
he  remained  at  the  President's  side,  holding  an  im 
portant  official  position  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 
When  Lincoln  died,  at  the  great  funeral  pageant  in 
Washington,  he  led  the  civic  procession,  and  was, 
with  Major  General  Hunter  and  Judge  David  Davis, 
selected  to  convey  the  remains  to  their  iinal  resting- 
place  at  Springfield. 

The  following  extract,  from  the  preface  to  hi-i 
work,  shows  what  an  inexhaustible  mine  of  materials 
he  had  with  which  to  prepare  a  full  and  authentic 
record  of  Lincoln's  life  and  character : 

"At  the  time  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  death,  I  determined 
to  write  his  history,  as  I  had  in  my  possession  much 
valuable  material  for  such  a  purpose.  .  .  .  Earl  y 
in  1869,  Mr.  Herndon  placed  at  my  disposal  his 
remarkable  collection  of  materials — the  richest, 
rarest,  and  fullest  collection  it  was  possible  to  con 
ceive.  .  .  .  Mr.  Herndon  had  been  the  partner 
in  business  and  the  intimate  personal  associate  of 
Mr.  Lincoln  for  something  like  a  quarter  of  a  cent 
ury;  and  Mr.  Lincoln  had  lived  familiarly  with 
several  members  of  his  family  long  before  their 
individual  acquaintance  began.  New  Salem,  Spring 
field,  the  old  judicial  circuit,  the  habits  and  friends 
of  Mr.  Lincoln,  were  as  well  known  to  Mr.  Herndon 
as  to  himself.  With  these  advantages,  and  from  the 
numberless  facts  and  hints  which  had  dropped  from 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  133 

Mr.  Lincoln  during  the  confidential  intercourse  of  an 
ordinary  lifetime,  Mr.  Herndon  was  able  to  institute 
a  thorough  s}*stem  of  inquiry  for  every  noteworthy 
circumstance  and  every  incident  of  value  in  Mr. 
Lincoln's  career.  The  fruits  of  Mr.  Herndon 's 
labors  are  garnered  in  three  enormous  volumes  of 
original  manuscripts  and  a  mass  of  unarranged 
letters  and  papers.  They  comprise  the  recollections 
of  Mr.  Lincoln's  nearest  friends  ;  of  the  surviving 
members  of  his  family  and  his  family-connections ; 
of  the  men  still  living  who  knew  him  and  his  parents 
in  Kentucky ;  of  his  schoolfellows,  neighbors,  and 
acquaintances  in  Indiana ;  of  the  better  part  of  the 
whole  population  of  New  Salem  ;  of  his  associates 
and  relatives  at  Springfield  ;  and  of  lawyers,  judges, 
politicians,  and  statesmen  everywhere,  who  had  am~- 
thing  of  interest  or  moment  to  relate.  They  were 
collected  at  vast  expense  of  time,  labor,  and  money, 
involving  the  employment  of  many  agents,  long 
journeys,  tedious  examinations,  and  voluminous 
correspondence.  Upon  the  value  of  these  materials 
it  would  be  impossible  to  place  an  estimate.  That 
I  have  used  them  conscientiously  and  justly  is  the 
only  merit  to  which  I  lay  claim." 

Lamon's  evidence  concerning  Lincoln's  unbelief  is 
complete  and  unanswerable.  He  did  not  present  it 
because  he  was  himself  an  unbeliever  and  wished  to 
support  his  views  with  the  prestige  of  Lincoln's 


134  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

great  name.  While  the  Freethinker  regards  Lin 
coln's  rejection  of  Christianity  as  in  the  highest 
degree  meritorious — a  proof  of  his  strong  logical 
acumen,  his  sterling  common  sense,  and  his  broad 
humanity — Lam  on  considered  it  a  grave  defect  in 
his  character.  He  states  the  fact  because  it  is  a  fact, 
and  because  the  purpose  of  his  work  is  to  disclose 
and  not  conceal  the  facts  of  Lincoln's  life.  If  ho 
devotes  considerable  space  to  the  subject,  and  ex 
hibits  a  special  earnestness  in  its  presentation,  the 
misrepresentations  of  Lincoln's  Christian  biogra 
phers  have  furnished  a  reasonable  pretext  for  it. 

In  the  pages  immediately  following  will  be  given 
the  individual  testimony  of  Colonel  Lamon : 

"  Any  analysis  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  character  would 
be  defective  that  did  not  include  his  religious  opin 
ions.  On  such  matters  he  thought  deeply,  and  his 
opinions  were  positive.  But  perhaps  no  phase  of 
his  character  has  been  more  persistently  misrepre 
sented  and  variously  misunderstood,  than  this  of  his 
religious  belief.  Not  that  the  conclusive  testimony 
of  many  of  his  intimate  associates  relative  to  his  fre 
quent  expressions  on  such  subjects  has  ever  been 
wanting ;  but  his  great  prominence  in  the  world's 
history,  and  his  identification  with  some  of  the 
great  questions  of  our  time,  which,  by  their  moral 
import,  were  held  to  be  eminently  religious  in  their 
character,  have  led  many  good  people  to  trace  in  his 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  135 

motives  and  actions  similar  convictions  to  those  held 
by  themselves.  His  extreme!}*  general  expressions 
of  religious  faith  called  forth  by  the  grave  exigen 
cies  of  his  public  life,  or  indulged  in  on  occasions  of 
private  condolence,  have  too  often  been  distorted 
out  of  relation  to  their  real  significance  or  meaning 
to  suit  the  opinions  or  tickle  the  fancies  of  individ 
uals  or  parties. 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  was  never  a  member  of  any  church, 
nor  did  he  believe  in  the  divinity  of  Christ,  or  the 
inspiration  of  the  Scriptures  in  the  sense  understood 
by  evangelical  Christians  "  (Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  486). 

Holland  and  other  Christian  biographers  have 
represented  Lincoln  as  a  youth  of  extreme  piety, 
whose  constant  companion  was  the  Bible.  The  con 
current  testimony  of  the  friends  of  his  boyhood  com 
pels  Colonel  Lamon  to  affirm  that  the  reverse  of  this 
is  true — that  Lincoln,  at  an  early  age,  was  noted  for 
his  skepticism.  He  says  : 

"  When  a  boy,  he  showed  no  sign  of  that  piety 
which  his  many  biographers  ascribe  to  his  manhood. 
.  .  .  When  he  went  to  church  at  all,  he  went  to 
mock,  and  came  away  to  mimic "  (Ibid,  pp.  486, 
487). 

"At  an  early  age  he  began  to  attend  the  'preach 
ings  '  roundabout,  but  principally  at  the  Pigeon 
Creek  church,  with  a  view  to  catching  whatever 
might  be  ludicrous  in  the  preacher's  air  or  matter, 


136  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  I 

and  making  it  the  subject  of  mimicry  as  soon  as  he 
could  collect  an  audience  of  idle  boys  and  men  t) 
hear  him.  A  pious  stranger,  passing  that  way  on  i 
Sunday  morning,  was  invited  to  preach  for  th^ 
Pigeon  Creek  congregation ;  but  he  banged  th  3 
boards  of  the  old  pulpit,  and  bellowed  and  groaned 
so  wonderfully,  that  Abe  could  hardly  contain  hi -5 
mirth.  This  memorable  sermon  was  a  great  favor 
ite  with  him  ;  and  he  frequently  reproduced  it  with 
nasal  tones,  rolling  eyes,  and  all  manner  of  droll 
aggravations,  to  the  great  delight  of  Nat  Grigsby 
and  the  wild  fellows  whom  Nat  was  able  to  assem 
ble"  (Ib.,  p.  55). 

"  His  chronicles  were  many,  and  on  a  great  variety 
of  subjects.  They  were  written,  as  his  early  ad 
mirers  love  to  tell  us,  '  in  the  Scriptural  style  ;'  but; 
those  we  have  betray  a  very  limited  acquaintance 
with  the  model  "  (Ib.,  p.  63). 

Of  his  Freethought  reading  and  theological  inves 
tigations  at  New  Salem,  and  his  book  on  Infidelity, 
Lam  on  says  : 

"  When  he  came  to  New  Salem,  he  consorted  with 
Freethinkers,  joined  with  them  in  deriding  the  gos 
pel  history  of  Jesus,  read  Yolney  and  Paine,  and  then 
wrote  a  deliberate  and  labored  essay,  wherein  he 
reached  conclusions  similar  to  theirs.  The  essay 
was  burnt,  but  he  never  denied  or  regretted  its 
composition.  On  the  contrary,  he  made  it  the  sub- 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  137 

ject  of  free  and  frequent  conversations  with  his 
friends  at  Springfield,  and  stated,  with  much  par 
ticularity  and  precision,  the  origin,  arguments,  and 
objects  of  the  work  "  (Ib.,  p.  487). 

"  The  community  in  which  he  lived  was  pre 
eminently  a  community  of  Freethinkers  in  matters 
of  religion  ;  and  it  was  then  r?o  secret,  nor  has  it 
been  a  secret  since,  that  Mr.  Lincoln  agreed  with 
the  majority  of  his  associates  in  denying  to  the  Bible 
the  authority  of  divine  revelation.  It  was  his  honest 
belief,  a  belief  which  it  was  no  reproach  to  hold  at 
New  Salem,  Anno  Domini  1834,  and  one  which  he 
never  thought  of  concealing.  It  was  no  distinction, 
either  good  or  bad,  no  honor,  and  no  shame.  But 
he  had  made  himself  thoroughly  familiar  with  the 
writings  of  Paine  and  Yolney— the  'Ruins'  by  the 
one,  and  '  The  Age  of  Reason '  by  the  other.  His 
mind  was  full  of  the  subject,  and  he  felt  an  itching 
to  write.  He  did  write,  and  the  result  was  a  little 
book.  It  was  probably  merely  an  extended  essay, 
but  it  is  ambitiously  spoken  of  as  '  a  book '  by  him 
self  and  by  the  persons  who  were  made  acquainted 
with  its  contents.  In  this  work  he  intended  to 
demonstrate  — 

" '  First,  that  the  Bible  was  not  God's  revelation ; 

"  '  Secondly,  that  Jesus  was  not  the  son  of  God.' 

"  No  leaf  of  this  little  volume  has  survived.  Mr. 
Lincoln  carried  it  in  manuscript  to  the  store  of  Mr. 


138  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  I 

Samuel  Hill,  where  it  was  read  and  discussed. 
Hill  was  himself  an  unbeliever,  but  his  son  consil- 
ered  his  book  '  infamous.'  It  is  more  than  probable 
that  Hill,  being  a  warm  personal  friend  of  Lincoln, 
feared  that  the  publication  of  the  essay  would  some 
day  interfere  with  the  political  advancement  of  his 
favorite.  At  all  events,  he  snatched  it  out  of  his 
hand,  and  thrust  it  into  the  fire,  from  which  not  a 
shred  escaped  "  (Ib.,  pp.  157,  158). 

Colonel  Lamon  is  confident  that  while  Linco  n 
finally  ceased  to  openly  promulgate  his  Freethought 
opinions,  he  never  abandoned  them.  He  says  : 

"  As  he  grew  older,  he  grew  more  cautious  ;  aid 
as  his  New  Salem  associates,  and  the  aggressive 
Deists  with  whom  he  originally  united  at  Spring 
field,  gradually  dispersed,  or  fell  away  from  his  side, 
he  appreciated  more  and  more  keenly  the  violence 
and  extent  of  the  religious  prejudices  which  freedom 
in  discussion  from  his  standpoint  would  be  sure  to 
arouse  against  him.  He  saw  the  immense  and 
augmenting  power  of  the  churches,  and  in  times  past 
had  practically  felt  it.  The  imputation  of  Infidelity 
had  seriously  injured  him  in  several  of  his  earlier 
political  contests ;  and,  sobered  by  age  and  expe 
rience,  he  was  resolved  that  that  same  imputation 
should  injure  him  no  more.  Aspiring  to  lead  relig 
ious  communities,  he  foresaw  that  he  must  not 
appear  as  an  enemy  within  their  gates  ;  aspiring  to 


WAS   HE   A  CHRISTIAN?  139 

public  honors  under  the  auspices  of  a  political 
party  which  persistently  summoned  religious  people 
to  assist  in  the  extirpation  of  that  which  is  denounced 
as  the  '  nation's  sin,'  he  foresaw  that  he  could  not 
ask  their  suffrages  whilst  aspersing  their  faith.  He 
perceived  no  reason  for  changing  his  convictions, 
but  he  did  perceive  many  good  and  cogent  reasons 
for  not  making  them  public  "  (Ib.,  pp.  497,  498). 

"  But  he  never  told  anyone  that  he  accepted  Jesus 
as  the  Christ,  or  performed  a  single  one  of  the  acts 
which  necessarily  follow  upon  such  a  conviction. 
At  Springfield  and  at  Washington  he  was  beset  on 
the  one  hand  by  political  priests,  and  on  the  other 
by  honest  and  prayerful  Christians.  He  despised 
the  former,  respected  the  latter,  a  ad  had  use  for 
both.  He  said  with  characteristic  irreverence  that 
he  would  not  undertake  to  *  run  the  churches  by 
military  authority  ;'  but  he  was,  nevertheless,  alive 
to  the  importance  of  letting  the  churches  '  run ' 
themselves  in  the  interest  of  his  party.  Indefinite 
expressions  about  '  Divine  Providence,'  the  '  Justice 
of  God,'  '  the  favor  of  the  Most  High,'  were  easy, 
and  not  inconsistent  with  his  religions  notions.  In 
this,  accordingly,  he  indulged  freely ;  but  never  in 
all  that  time  did  he  let  fall  from  his  lips  or  his  pen 
an  expression  which  remotely  implied  the  slightest 
faith  in  Jesus  as  the  son  of  God  and  the  Savior  of 
men''  (Ib.,  p.  502). 


140  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

Lamon  was  Lincoln's  intimate  and  trusted  friend 
at  Washington,  and  had  he  changed  his  belief,  his 
biographer,  as  well  as  Noah  Brooks  and  the  Illinois 
clergyman,  would  have  been  in  possession  of  the 
fact. 

In  1851  Lincoln  wrote  a  letter  of  consolation  to 
his  dying  father,  in  which  he  counseled  him  to 
"  confide  in  our  great  arid  good  and  merciful  Maker." 
This  letter  was  given  to  the  public  by  Mr.  Herndon, 
and  has  been  cited  by  the  orthodox  to  prove  that 
Lincoln  was  a  believer.  Adverting  to  this  letter 
Lamon  says : 

"If  ever  there  was  a  moment  when  Mr.  Lincoln 
might  have  been  expected  to  express  his  faith  in  the 
atonement,  his  trust  in  the  merits  of  a  liviiig 
Kedeemer,  it  was  when  he  undertook  to  send  a  com 
posing  and  comforting  message  to  a  dying  man. 
But  he  omitted  it  wholly.  He  did  not  even 
mention  the  name  of  Jesus,  or  intimate  the  most 
distant  suspicion  of  the  existence  of  a  Christ " 
(Ibid.,  p.  497). 

Lincoln's  mind  was  not  entirely  free  from  super 
stition,  but  though  born  and  reared  in  Christendom, 
the  superstitious  element  in  his  nature  was  not 
essentially  Christian.  His  fatalistic  ideas,  so  char 
acteristic  of  the  faith  of  Islam,  have  already  been 
mentioned  by  Mr.  Herndon,  and  are  thus  referred  to 
by  Colonel  Lamon : 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  141 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  was  by  no  means  free  from  a  kind 
of  belief  in  the  supernatural.  .  .  .  He  lived 
constantly  in  the  serious  conviction  that  he  was  him 
self  the  subject  of  a  special  decree,  made  by  some 
unknown  and  mysterious  power,  for  which  he  had  no 
name  "  (Ibid.,  p.  503.). 

*•  His  mind  was  filled  with  gloomy  forebodings 
and  strong  apprehensions  of  impending  evil,  mingled 
with  extravagant  visions  of  personal  grandeur  and 
power.  His  imagination  painted  a  scene  just  be 
yond  the  veil  of  the  immediate  future,  gilded  with 
glory  yet  tarnished  with  blood.  It  was  his  *  des- 
tnry ' — splendid  but  dreadful,  fascinating  but 
terrible.  His  case  bore  little  resemblance  to 
those  of  religious  enthusiasts  like  Bunyan, 
Cowper,  and  others.  His  was  more  like  the  de 
lusion  of  the  fatalist  conscious  of  his  star  "  (Ibid,, 
p.  475). 

When  Lamon's  work  appeared,  Holland,  backed  by 
the  Christian  element  generally,  fell  upon  it  like  a 
savage  and  sought,  as  far  as  possible,  to  suppress  it. 
Lamon  had  committed  an  unpardonable  offense.  He 
had  declared  to  the  world  that  Lincoln  had  died  a 
disbeliever,  and,  what  was  worse,  he  had  proved  it. 
Holland's  attack  was  made  in  an  eight-column 
review  of  Lamon's  "  Life,"  which  was  published  in 
Scribners  Monthly,  for  August,  1872.  In  order  to  give 
an  air  of  candor  and  judicial  fairness  to  his  veno- 


142  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  I 

mous  criticisms,  he  opens  with  this  flattering  recogni 
tion  of  its  merits  : 

k'  It  is  not  difficult  to  see  how  Colonel  Lamon,  who 
during  Mr.  Lincoln's  Presidency  held  an  office  in  the 
District  of  Columbia,  which  must  have  brought  him 
into  somewhat  frequent  intercourse  with  the  Presi 
dent,  and  who,  indeed,  had  come  with  him  from 
Springfield  to  the  Capital,  should  feel  that  theie 
rested  on  him  a  certain  biographical  duty.  And 
certainly  he  was  in  possession  of  a  mass  of  material 
so  voluminous,  so  original,  and  so  fresh  that  in  this 
respect  at  least  his  fitness  for  the  work  was  remark 
ably  complete.  Moreover,  Mr.  W.  H.  Herndon,  who 
was  Mr,  Lincoln's  partner  in  the  practice  of  the  law  jit 
Springfield,  and  was,  of  course,  closely  intimate  witli 
his  partner  in  a  business  way,  .  .  .  added  to 
Colonel  Lamon's  material  the  valuable  documents 
which  he  had  himself  collected,  and  the  memoranda 
which,  with  painstaking  and  lawyer-like  abilit}7,  ho 
had  recorded  from  the  oral  testimony  of  living  wit 
nesses. 

"  As  far  as  the  story  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  childhood 
and  early  life  is  concerned,  down  to  the  time  when 
his  political  life  began,  it  has  never  been  told  so 
fully,  with  such  spirit  and  zest,  and  with  such  evi 
dent  accuracy,  as  by  Colonel  Lamon." 

Nearly  the  entire  review  is  devoted  to  a  denuncia 
tion  >f  Lamon's  exposition  of  Lincoln's  religious 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  143 

opinions.  He  repeatedly  pronounces  this  "  an  out 
rage  on  decency,"  and  characterizes  Lincoln's  Free- 
thought  companions  as  "  heathen,"  "  barbarians," 
and  u  savages."  The  review  concludes  as  follows  : 

"  The  violent  and  reckless  prejudice,  and  the  utter 
want  of  delicacy  and  even  of  decency  by  which  the 
book  is  characterized,  in  such  instances  as  this,  will 
more  than  counterbalance  the  value  of  its  new  ma 
terial,  its  fresh  and  vigorous  pictures  of  Western 
life  and  manners,  and  its  familiar  knowledge  of  the 
'  inside  politics '  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  administration, 
and  will  even  make  its  publication  (by  the  famous 
publishers  whose  imprint  imparts  to  it  a  prestige 
and  authority  which  its  authorship  would  fail  to 
give)  something  like  a  national  misfortune.  In  some 
quarters  it  will  be  readily  received  as  the  standard 
life  of  the  good  President.  It  is  all  the  more  desir 
able  that  the  criticism  upon  it  should  be  prompt 
and  unsparing." 

Christianity  must  have  the  support  of  Lincoln's 
great  name.  To  secure  it  Holland  is  willing  to  mis 
represent  the  honest  convictions  of  Lincoln's  life 
time,  to  traduce  the  characters  of  his  dearest  friends, 
and  to  rob  a  brother  author  and  a  publisher  of  their 
just  reward. 

Lamon  states  that  during  the  last  years  of  Lin 
coln's  life  he  ceased  to  proclaim  his  Infidel  opinions 
because  they  were  unpopular.  Eeferring  to  this 


144  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN ! 

statement,  Holland  says:  "The  eagerness  with 
which  this  volume  strives  to  cover  Mr.  Lincoln's 
memory  with  an  imputation  so  detestable  is  one  of 
the  most  pitiable  exhibitions  which  we  have  lately 
witnessed." 

This  outbiirst  of  righteous  indignation,  coining 
from  the  source  it  does,  is  peculiarly  ref resiling. 
To  appreciate  it,  we  have  only  to  open  Holland's 
work,  and  read  such  passages  as  the  following  :  '  I 
am  obliged  to  appear  different  to  them."  "  It  w.is 
one  of  the  peculiarities  of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  hide  these 
religious  [Christian]  experiences  from  the  eyes  :>f 
the  world."  "  Who  had  never  in  their  whole  livos 
heard  from  his  lips  one  word  of  all  these  religious 
convictions  and  experiences."  "  They  [his  friends] 
did  not  regard  him  as  a  religious  man."  "  All  this 
department  of  his  life  he  had  kept  carefully  hidden 
from  them."  "  There  was  much  of  his  conduct  that 
was  simply  a  cover  to  these  thoughts — an  effort  to 
conceal  them  "  (Holland's  Life  of  Lincoln,  pp.  239, 
240). 

Consummate  hypocrisy  in  a  Christian  is  all  right 
with  this  moralist ;  but  for  a  Freethinker  to  with 
hold  his  views  from  an  intolerant  religious  world  is 
a  detestable  crime. 

As  a  biographer  of  Lincoln,  Holland  possessed 
many  advantages  over  Lamon.  His  work  was  writ 
ten  and  published  immediately  after  the  awful  trag- 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  145 

edy,  when  almost  the  entire  reading  public  was 
deeply  interested  in  everything  that  pertained  to 
Lincoln's  life.  So  far  as  Lincoln's  religious  views 
are  concerned,  he  advocated  the  popular  side  of  the 
question  ;  for  while  those  outside  of  the  church 
cared  but  little  about  the  matter,  the  church  desired 
the  influence  of  his  great  name,  and  was  ready  to 
reward  those  who  assisted  her  in  obtaining  it.  Hol 
land,  too,  had  an  established  reputation  as  an  author 
— had  nearly  as  large  a  class  of  readers  as  any 
writer  in  this  country.  His  name  alone  was  suffi 
cient  to  guarantee  a  large  circulation  to  any  book  he 
might  produce.  Lamon,  on  the  other  hand,  pos 
sessed  but  a  single  advantage  over  his  rival,  that  of 
having  the  truth  on  his  side.  And  while  "  truth  is 
mighty,"  and  will  in  the  end  prevail,  yet  how  often 
is  it  "  crushed  to  earth  "  and  for  the  time  obscured. 
In  view  of  all  this,  it  is  not  strange  that  the  public 
should  be  so  slow  to  reject  the  fictions  of  Holland 
and  accept  the  facts  of  Lamon. 

That  Lamon's  "Life  of  Lincoln"  is  wholly  unde 
serving  of  adverse  criticism,  is  not  claimed.  He 
has,  perhaps,  given  undue  prominence  to  some 
matters  connected  with  Lincoln's  private  affairs 
which  might  with  propriety  have  been  consigned  to 
oblivion.  A  larger  manifestation  of  charity,  too,  for 
the  imperfections  of  those  with  whom  Lincoln 
mingled,  especially  in  the  humbler  walks  of  life, 


146  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  : 

would  not  have  detracted  from  its  merit.  And  jet, 
those  who  desire  to  know  Lincoln  as  he  really  was, 
should  read  Lamon  rather  than  Holland.  In 
Lamon's  work,  Lincoln's  character  is  a  rugged  oak, 
towering  above  its  fellows  and  clothed  in  nature's 
livery  ;  in  Holland's  work,  it  is  a  dead  tree  with  the 
bark  taken  off,  the  knots  planed  clown,  and 
varnished. 

In  the  New  York  World  appeared  the  following 
just  estimate  of  these  two  biographies  : 

"  Mr.  Ward  H.  Lamon  is  the  author  of  one  '  Life  of 
Lincoln,'  and  Dr.  J.  G.  Holland  is  the  author  of  r An 
other.  Mr.  Lamou  was  the  intimate  personal  and 
political  friend  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  trusting  and  trusted, 
from  the  time  of  their  joint  practice  in  the  Illinois 
Quarter  Sessions  to  the  moment  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
death  at  Washington.  Dr.  Holland  was  nothing 
to  Mr.  Lincoln — neither  known  nor  knowing.  Dr. 
Holland  rushed  his  'Life'  from  the  press  before 
the  disfigured  corpse  was  fairly  out  of  sight,  while 
the  public  mind  lingered  with  horror  over  the  details 
of  the  tragedy,  and,  excited  by  morbid  curiosity, 
was  willing  to  pay  for  its  gratification.  Mr.  Lamon 
waited  many  years,  until  all  adventitious  interest 
had  subsided,  and  then  with  incredible  labor  and 
pains,  produced  a  volume  founded  upon  materials 
which  for  their  fulness,  variety,  and  seeming  authen 
ticity  are  unrivaled  in  the  history  of  biographies. 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  147 

Dr.  Holland's  single  volume  professed  to  cover  the 
whole  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  career.  Mr.  Lamon's  single 
volume  was  modestly  confined  to  a  part  of  it.  Dr. 
Holland's  was  an  easy,  graceful,  off-hand  perform 
ance,  having  but  the  one  slight  demerit  of  being  in 
all  essential  particulars  untrue  from  beginning  to 
end.  Mr.  Lamon's  was  a  labored,  cautious,  and 
carefully  verified  narrative  which  seems  to  have 
been  accepted  by  disinterested  critics  as  entirely 
authentic. 

"Dr.  Holland  would  probably  be  very  much 
shocked  if  anybody  should  ask  him  to  bear  false 
witness  in  favor  of  his  neighbor  in  a  court  of  justice, 
but  he  takes  up  his  pen  to  make  a  record  which  he 
hopes  and  intends  shall  endure  forever,  and  in  that 
record  deliberately  bears  false  witness  in  favor  of  a 
public  man  whom  he  happened  to  admire,  with  no 
kind  of  offense  to  his  serene  and  '  cultured '  con 
science.  If  this  were  all — if  Dr.  Holland  merely 
asserted  his  own  right  to  compose  and  publish 
elaborate  fictions  on  historical  subjects — we  might 
comfort  ourselves  with  the  reflection  that  such 
literature  is  likely  to  be  as  evanescent  as  it  is  dis 
honest,  and  let  him  pass  in  silence.  But  this  is  not 
all.  He  maintains  that  it  is  everybody's  duty  to 
help  him  to  deceive  the  public  and  to  write  down 
his  more  conscientious  competitor.  He  turns  up 
the  nose  of  '  culture  '  and  curls  the  lip  of  '  art '  at 


148  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

Mr.  Lamon's  homely  narrative  of  facts,  and  gravely 
insists  that  all  other  noses  and  all  other  lips  shall  be 
turned  up  and  curled  because  his  are.  He  implores 
the  public,  which  he  insulted  and  gulled  with  his 
own  book,  to  damn  Mr.  Lamon's,  and  he  puts  his 
request  on  the  very  ground  that  Mr.  Lamon  has 
stupidly  gone  and  narrated  undeniable  truths, 
whereby  he  has  demolished  an  empty  shrine  that 
was  profitable  to  many,  and  broken  a  painted  idol 
that  might  have  served  for  a  god. 

"  The  names  of  Holland  and  Lamon  are  not  of 
themselves  and  by  themselves  illustrious  ;  but  start 
ing  from  the  title-pages  of  the  two  Lives  of  Lincoln, 
and  representing,  as  they  do,  the  two  schools  of 
biography  writers,  the  one  stands  for  a  principle  and 
the  other  for  the  want  of  it." 


WAS   HE   A  CHRISTIAN?  149 


CHAPTEK  VIII. 

TESTIMONY    OF    HON.    JOHN     T.    STUART    AND    COL.    JAMES 
H.    MATHENY. 

Testimony  of  Hon.  John  T.  Stuart — Testimony  of  Col.  James  H.Ma- 
theny — Stuart's  Disclaimer — Matheny's  Disclaimer — Examination  and 
Authorship  of  Disclaimers,  Including  the  Edwards  and  Lewis  Letters. 

BESIDES  his  own  testimony  concerning  Lincoln's 
unbelief,  Colonel  Lanion  cites  the  testimony  of  ten 
additional  witnesses  :  Hon.  Wm.  H.  Herudon,  Hon. 
John  T.  Stuart,  Col.  James  H.  Matheny,  Dr.  C.  H. 
Bay,  Wm.  H.  Hannah,  Esq  ,  Mr.  Jas.  W.  Keys,  Hon. 
Jesse  W.  Fell,  Col.  John  G.  Nicolay,  Hon.  David 
Davis  and  Mrs.  Mary  Lincoln.  The  testimony  of 
Mr.  Herndon  having  already  been  presented,  the 
testimony  of  Mr.  Stuart  and  Colonel  Matheny  will 
next  be  given.  This  testimony  was  procured  by 
Mr.  Herndon  for  the  purpose  of  refuting  the  errone 
ous  statements  of  Dr.  Holland. 

Hon.  John  T.  Stuart,  who  was  for  a  time  a  mem 
ber  of  Congress  from  Illinois,  was  the  first  law 
partner  of  Lincoln.  He  says  : 

"  Lincoln  went  further  against  Christian  beliefs 
and  doctrines  and  principles  than  any  man  I  ever 


150  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

heard :  he  shocked  me.  I  don't  remember  the 
exact  line  of  his  argument — suppose  it  was  against 
the  inherent  defects,  so  called,  of  the  Bible,  and  on 
grounds  of  reason.  Lincoln  always  denied  th  it 
Jesiis  was  the  Christ  of  God — denied  that  Jesus  was 
the  son  of  God,  as  understood  and  maintained  by 
the  Christian  church.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Smith,  wLo 
wrote  a  letter,  tried  to  convert  Lincoln  from  Infidel 
ity  so  late  as  1858,  and  couldn't  do  it  "  (Lamon's 
Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  488). 

Col.  James  H.  Matheny  was  one  of  Lincoln's  most 
intimate  friends,  and  was  for  many  years  his  chief 
political  manager.  He  testifies  as  follows  : 

"  I  knew  Mr.  Lincoln  as  early  as  1834-7 ;  know  he 
was  an  Infidel.  He  and  W.  D.  Herndon  used  to  talk 
Infidelity  in  the  Clerk's  office  in  this  city,  about  the 
years  1837-40.  Lincoln  attacked  the  Bible  and  the 
New  Testament  on  two  grounds  :  first,  from  the  in 
herent  or  apparent  contradictions  under  its  lids  ; 
second,  from  the  grounds  of  reason.  Sometimes  ho 
ridiculed  the  Bible  and  the  New  Testament,  some 
times  seemed  to  scoff  it,  though  I  shall  not  use  that 
word  iii  its  full  and  literal  sense.  I  never  heard 
that  Lincoln  changed  his  views,  though  his  personal 
and  political  friend  from  1834  to  1860.  Sometimes 
Lincoln  bordered  on  Atheism.  He  went  far  that 
way  and  shocked  me.  I  was  then  a  young  man,  and 
believed  what  my  good  mother  told  me.  Stuart  and 


WAS   HE  A  CHRISTIAN?  151 

Lincoln's  office  was  in  what  is  called  Hoffman's  Row, 
on  North  Fifth  street,  near  the  public  square.  It 
was  in  the  same  building  as  the  Clerk's  office,  and 
on  the  same  floor.  Lincoln  would  come  into  the 
Clerk's  office,  where  I  and  some  young  men — Evan 
Butler,  Newton  Francis  and  others — were  writing  or 
staying,  and  would  bring  the  Bible  with  him  ;  would 
read  a  chapter,  argue  against  it.  Lincoln  then  had 
a  smattering  of  geology,  if  I  recollect  it.  Lincoln 
often,  if  not  wholly,  was  an  Atheist ;  at  least,  bor 
dered  on  it.  Lincoln  was  enthusiastic  in  his  Infidel 
ity.  As  he  grew  older,  he  grew  more  discreet,  didn't 
talk  much  before  strangers  about  his  religion ;  but 
to  friends,  close  and  bosom  ones,  he  was  always 
open  and  avowed,  fair  and  honest ;  but  to  strangers, 
he  held  them  off  from  policy.  Lincoln  used  to  quote 
Burns.  Burns  helped  Lincoln  to  be  an  Infidel,  as  I 
think ;  at  least  he  found  in  Burns  a  like  thinker 
and  feeler. 

"  From  what  I  know  of  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  views 
of  Christianity,  and  from  what  I  know  as  honest, 
well-founded  rumor ;  from  what  I  have  heard  his 
best  friends  say  and  regret  for  years ;  from  what  he 
never  denied  when  accused,  and  from  what  Lincoln 
has  hinted  and  intimated,  to  say  no  more,  he  did 
write  a  little  book  on  Infidelity,  at  or  near  New 
Salem,  in  Menard  county,  about  the  year  1834  or 
1835.  I  have  stated  these  things  to  you  often. 


152  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

Judge  Logan,  John  T.  Stuart,  yourself,  know  what  I 
know,  and  some  of  you  more. 

"  Mr.  Herudon,  you  insist  on  knowing  something 
which  you  know  I  possess,  and  got  as  a  secret,  ;u  d 
that  is,  about  Lincoln's  little  book  on  Infidelity. 
Mr.  Lincoln  did  tell  me  that  he  did  write  a  little  book 
on  Infidelity.  This  statement  I  have  avoided  hereto 
fore  ;  but,  as  you  strongly  insist  upon  it — probably 
to  defend  yourself  against  charges  of  misrepresenta 
tions — I  give  it  to  you  as  I  got  it  from  Lincoln's 
mouth  "  (Life  of  Lincoln,  pp.  487,  488). 

The  evidence  of  Stuart  and  Matheny,  as  recorded 
in  Lamon's  work,  having  been  presented,  it  is  now 
proper  to  state  that  this  evidence  lias,  in  a  measure-, 
been  repudiated  by  them.  Dr.  Reed,  in  his  lecture, 
produced  letters  from  them  disclaiming  in  part  or 
modifying  the  statements  imputed  to  them.  Dr. 
Eeed  says  :  "  I  have  been  amazed  to  find  that  tho 
principal  persons  whose  testimony  is  given  in  this 
book  to  prove  that  their  old  friend  lived  and  died 
an  Infidel,  never  wrote  a  word  of  it,  and  never  gave 
it  as  their  opinion  or  allowed  it  to  be  published  as 
covering  their  estimate  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  life  and 
religious  views."  Alluding  to  Stuart's  evidence,  he 
says :  "  Mr.  Lamon  has  attributed  to  Mr.  Stuart 
testimony  the  most  disparaging  and  damaging  to 
Mr.  Lincoln's  character  and  opinions — testimony 
which  Mr.  Stuart  utterly  repudiates,  both  as  to 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  153 

language  and  sentiment."  Kegarding  Matheny's 
testimony,  he  says  :  "  Mr.  Matheny  testifies  that  he 
never  wrote  a  word  of  what  is  attributed  to  him  ; 
that  it  is  not  a  fair  representation  of  either  his  lan 
guage  or  his  opinions,  and  that  he  never  would 
have  allowed  such  an  article  to  be  published  as  cov 
ering  his  estimate  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  life  and  char 
acter." 

The  following  is  the  disclaimer  of  Mr.  Stuart : 

"  Springfield,  Dec.  17th,  1872. 
"  Kev.  J.  A.  Keed  : 

"  Dear  Sir— 

"  My  attention  has  been  called  to  a  statement  in 
relation  to  the  religious  opinions  of  Mr.  Lincoln, 
purporting  to  have  been  made  by  me,  and  published 
in  Lamon's  'Life  of  Lincoln.'  The  language  of  that 
statement  is  not  mine  ;  it  was  not  written  by  me, 
and  I  did  not  see  it  until  it  was  in  print.  I  was  once 
interviewed  on  the  subject  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  religious 
opinions,  and  doubtless  said  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
in  the  earlier  part  of  his  life  an  Infidel.  I  could  not 
have  said  that  'Dr.  Smith  tried  to  convert  Lincoln 
from  Infidelity  so  late  as  1858,  and  couldn't  do  it.' 
In  relation  to  that  point  I  stated,  in  the  same  con 
versation,  some  facts  which  are 'omitted  in  that 
statement,  and  which  I  will  briefly  repeat.  That 
Eddie,  a  child  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  died  in  1848  or  1849, 
and  that  he  and  his  wife  were  in  deep  grief  on  the 


154  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

account.  That  Dr.  Smith,  then  pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  church  of  Springfield,  at  the  suggestion 
of  a  lady  friend  of  theirs,  called  upon  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  and  that  first  visit  resulted  in  great 
intimacy  and  friendship  between  them,  lasting  till 
the  death  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  continuing  with  Mrs. 
Lincoln  till  the  death  of  Dr.  Smith.  I  stated  that  I 
had  heard  at  the  time  that  Dr.  Smith  and  Mr.  Lin 
coln  had  much  discussion  in  relation  to  the  truth  o ' 
the  Christian  religion,  and  that  Dr.  Smith  had  fur 
nished  Mr.  Lincoln  with  books  to  read  on  that  sub 
ject,  and  among  others  one  which  had  been  writter 
by  himself,  sometime  previous,  on  Infidelity ;  and 
that  Dr.  Smith  claimed  that  after  this  investigation 

O 

Mr.  Lincoln  had  changed  his  opinions,  and  became 
a  believer  in  the  truth  of  the  Christian  religion  ; 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  and  myself  never  conversed  upon 
that  subject,  and  I  had  no  personal  knowledge  as  to 
his  alleged  change  of  opinion.  I  stated,  however, 
that  it  was  certainly  true  that  up  to  that  time  Mr. 
Lincoln  had  never  regularly  attended  any  place  of 
religious  worship,  but  that  after  that  time  he  rented 
a  pew  in  the  First  Presbyterian  church,  and  with  his 
family  constantly  attended  the  worship  in  that 
church  until  he  went  to  Washington  as  President. 
This  much  I  said  at  the  time,  and  I  can  now  add 
that  the  Hon.  Ninian  W.  Edwards,  the  brother-in- 
law  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  has,  within  a  few  days,  informed 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  155 

me  that  when  Mr.  Lincoln  commenced  attending  the 
First  Presbyterian  church  lie  admitted  to  him  that 
his  views  had  undergone  the  change  claimed  by  Dr. 
Smith.  I  would  further  say  that  Dr.  Smith  was  a 
man  of  great  ability,  and  on  theological  and  meta 
physical  subjects  had  few  superiors  and  not  many 
equals.  Truthfulness  was  a  prominent  trait  in  Mr. 
Lincoln's  character,  and  it  would  be  impossible  for 
any  intimate  friend  of  his  to  believe  that  he  ever 
aimed  to  deceive,  either  by  his  words  or  his  con 
duct. 

"  Yours  truly, 

"JolmT.  Stuart." 

Col.  Matheny's  disclaimer  is  as  follows : 

.  •'  Springfield,  Dec.  16th,  1872. 

"  Eev.  J.  A.  Reed  : 
"  Dear  Sir- 

"  The  language  attributed  to  me  in  Lamon's  book 
is  not  from  my  pen.  I  did  not  write  it,  and  it  does 
not  express  my  sentiments  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  entire 
life  and  character.  It  is  a  mere  collection  of  say 
ings  gathered  from  private  conversations  that  were 
only  true  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  earlier  life.  I  would  not 
have  allowed  such  an  article  to  be  printed  over  my 
signature  as  covering  my  opinion  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
life  and  religious  sentiments.  "While  I  do  believe 
Mr.  Lincoln  to  have  been  an  Infidel  in  his  former 
life,  when  his  mind  was  as  yet  unformed,  and  his 


156  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

associatious  principally  with  rough  and  skeptical 
men,  yet  I  believe  he  was  a  very  different  man  in 
later  life,  and  that  after  associating  with  a  different 
class  of  men  and  investigating  the  subject,  he  was  a 
firm  believer  in  the  Christian  religion. 
"Yours  truly, 

"  Jas.  H.  Matheny." 

This  disclosure  startles  you,  my  dear  reader.  But 
be  patient.  I  will  show  you  that  this  apparently 
mortal  thrust  of  Dr.  Reed's  was  made,  not  with  a 
lance,  but  with  a  boomerang. 

When  Reed  made  his  assault  upon  Lamon's  wit 
nesses,  all  stood  firm  but  two  — two  old  Springfield 
politicians  whose  political  aspirations  had  not  yet 
become  extinct — John  T.  Stuart  and  James  H.  Math 
eny.  These  men  had  been  among  the  first  to  testify 
in  regard  to  Lincoln's  unbelief.  His  Christian 
biographers  had  misrepresented  his  religious  views  ; 
they  believed  that  the  fraud  ought  to  be  exposed, 
and  they  were  ready  and  willing  to  aid  in  the  work. 
Their  testimony  exhibits  a  frankness  that  is  truly 
commendable.  They  knew  that  lying  was  a  vice, 
but  they  did  not  know  that  truth-telling  was  a  crime. 
They  had  yet  to  learn  that  the  church  tolerates 
murder  more  readily  than  the  promulgation  of  a 
truth  that  is  antagonistic  to  her  creed.  But  this 
fact  they  were  destined  to  learn.  Lamon's  work 
had  scarcely  been  issued  from  the  press  before  he 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  157 

was  anathematized  and  his  book  proscribed.  The 
merciless  attack  that  had  already  been  commenced 
upon  Herndon  portended  danger  to  them.  Nor 
had  they  long  to  wait.  In  December,  1872,  they 
were  approached  by  Reed  and  his -coadjutors.  They 
were  informed  that  the  idol  which  their  ruthless 
iconoclasm  had  helped  to  break  must  be  repaired. 
They  were  given  to  understand  that  if  they  repented 
of  the  part  they  had  performed  and  recanted, 
peace  would  be  their  portion  here  and  endless  bliss 
hereafter ;  but  that  if  they  did  not,  endless  misery 
would  begin  on  Jan.  1,  A.D.  1873. 

The  situation  was  critical.  They  did  not  like  to 
tell  the  world  that  they  had  borne  false  witness 
against  the  dead,  nor  did  they,  any  more  than  Gali 
leo,  wish  to  wear  a  martyr's  crown.  A  compromise 
was  finally  effected.  It  was  incidentally  ascertained 
by  Eeed  that  their  evidence  as  presented  by  Lamon 
was  not  originally  given  in  the  shape  of  a  letter  or  a 
written  statement,  but  orally.  A  happy  thought 
suggested  itself — one  worthy  of  the  unscrupulous 
theological  pettifogger  that  he  is.  The  thought  was 
this  :  "  Say  to  the  public,  or  rather  let  me  say  it  for 
you,  that  you  did  not  write  a  word  of  the  testimony 
attributed  to  you."  Just  as  a  witness  in  court  might 
point  to  the  stenographer's  report  of  his  testimony 
and  say,  "  I  did  not  write  a  word  of  that." 

In  addition  to  this,  Mr.  Stuart,  in  endeavoring  to 


158  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

explain  away,  as  far  as  possible,  the  obnoxious  char 
acter  of  his  testimony,  declared  that  some  things 
which  he  did  say  at  the  time  his  testimony  was  given 
had  been  omitted ;  while  something  he  did  not  say 
was  inserted.  They  were  both  trivial  matters,  hardly 
worthy  of  notice,  even  if  true,  and  having  no  especial 
bearing  upon  the  case.  But  they  served  an  admi 
rable  purpose  in  enabling  Reed  to  say  that  the  testi 
mony  adduced  by  Lamon  was  "  abridged  and  dis 
torted." 

Stuart's  disclaimer,  then,  divested  of  its  mislead 
ing  verbiage,  contains  but  two  points.  In  the  first 
place,  he  says  :  "  I  could  not  have  said  that  '  Dr. 
Smith  tried  to  convert  Lincoln  from  Infidelity  so  late 
as  1858,  and  couldn't  do  it.' '  This  sentence,  like 
everything  else  in  these  disclaimers,  is  cunningly 
worded  and  intended  to  deceive.  One  would 
naturally  suppose  the  idea  he  intends  to  convey  is 
that  he  never  declared  that  Dr.  Smith  tried  to  con 
vert  Lincoln  and  couldn't  do  it.  This,  it  has  been 
ascertained,  is  not  his  meaning.  What  he  means  is 
this:  "  I  could  not  have  said  that  '  Dr.  Smith  tried 
to  convert  Lincoln  from  Infidelity,  so  late  ctfi  1858, 
and  couldn't  do  it.'  '  His  denial  is  a  mere  quibble 
about  a  date.  He  did  undoubtedly  say  just  what  he 
is  reported  to  have  said.  But  admitting  a  doubt,  and 
giving  him  the  benefit  of  this  doubt,  by  throwing  out 
the  disputed  date,  the  passage  is  not  less  damaging 


WAS   HE  A   CHRISTIAN?  159 

than  it  was  before  :  "  Dr.  Smith  tried  to  convert 
Lincoln  from  Infidelity,  and  couldn't  do  it."  But 
let  us  omit  the  entire  sentence,  and  the  testimony  of 
Mr.  Stuart  that  remains,  about  which  there  is  no 
dispute,  that  portion  of  his  testimony  which  he  ad 
mits  to  be  correct — is  as  follows  : 

"Lincoln  went  further  against  Christian  beliefs 
and  doctrines  and  principles  than  any  man  I  ever 
heard ;  he  shocked  me.  I  don't  remember  the 
exact  line  of  his  argument ;  suppose  it  was  against 
the  inherent  defects,  so  called,  of  the  Bible,  and 
on  grounds  of  reason.  Lincoln  always  denied  that 
Jesus  was  the  Christ  of  God — denied  that  Jesus 
was  the  Son  of  God,  as  understood  and  maintained 
by  the  Christian  church." 

In  the  second  place,  Mr.  Stuart  complains  that 
the  rumors  concerning  Dr.  Smith's  attempted  con 
version  of  Lincoln  which  he  had  mentioned  to  Mr. 
Herndon  at  the  time  of  giving  his  testimony,  were 
omitted.  They  were,  and  very  properly,  too.  Mr. 
Stuart,  or  any  other  good  lawyer,  would  have  omit 
ted  them.  Mr.  Herndon  desired  him  to  testify 
about  what  he  knew,  and  not  about  what  he  had 
heard,  especially  as  he  was  going  to  headquarters  in 
regard  to  these  rumors.  He  wrote  to  Dr.  Smith 
himself  about  them,  received  his  testimony,  and 
gave  it  to  the  public. 

Stuart  affects  to  believe   that   this  story,   which 


160  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

Ninian  Edwards  is  dragged  around  by  Eeed  H,o 
verify,  may  possibly  have  been  true.  But  in  the 
same  sentence,  he  refutes  this  idea,  and  refutes  tie 
claim  itself,  by  saying :  "Iliad  no  personal  knowl 
edge  as  to  his  alleged  change  of  opinion."  Stuart 
was  a  family  connection  of  Lincoln,  and  if  Lincoln 
had  been  converted,  he,  as  well  as  every  other  pe--- 
son  in  Springfield,  would  have  known  it. 

He  states  that  Dr.  Smith's  first  visit  to  Lincoln 
was  "  at  the  suggestion  of  a  lady  friend."  To  luue 
avoided  another  glaring  contradiction  in  the  evidence 
of  his  witnesses,  Eeed  should  have  had  Major  Stuart 
state  that  this  "  lady  friend "  was  Thomas  Lewis. 
As  it  is,  the  account  given  b}T  Stuart  of  Dr.  Smith's 
first  visit  and  acquaintance  with  Lincoln  is  entirely 
at  variance  with  the  account  given  by  Mr.  Lewis  i.n 
his  letter,  quoted  in  chapter  I. 

Mr.  Stuart  evidently  entertained  no  very  kind 
opinion  of  Colonel  Larnon's  work,  and  this  made 
him  all  the  more  disposed  to  accede  to  Eeed's  de 
mands.  His  position  on  the  slavery  question,  for  a 
time,  was  one  which,  in  the  light  of  subsequent 
events,  he  had  no  reason  to  be  proud  of,  and  Lamon 
in  narrating  the  acts  of  Lincoln's  life  found  it  neces 
sary  frequently  to  refer  to  this.  Such  passages  as 
the  following  were  calculated  not  only  to  make  him 
offended  at  Lamon,  but  jealous  of  Herndon  :  "  John 
T.  Stuart  was  keeping  his  eye  on  Lincoln,  with  the 


WAS    HE   A    CHE 


view  of  keeping  him  on  his  side — the  totally  dead 
conservative  side."  "  Mr.  Lincoln  was  beset  by 
warm  friends  and  by  old  coadjutors,  and  besought 
to  pause  in  his  anti-slavery  course  while  there  was 
yet  time.  Among  these  there  was  none  more  earnest 
or  persuasive  than  John  T.  Stuart,  who  was  but  the 
type  of  a  class.  .  .  .  But  Mr.  Herndon  was  more 
than  a  match  for  the  full  array  against  him.  An 
earnest  man,  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season,  he 
spoke  with  the  eloquence  of  apparent  truth  and  of 
real  personal  love  "  (Life  of  Lincoln,  pp.  374,  352). 

Colonel  Matheny  was  not  prepared  to  deny  the 
correctness  of  a  single  statement  in  his  testimony, 
but  was  forced  to  modify  its  bearing  as  a  whole.  He 
was  made  to  say :  "  It  does  not  express  my  senti 
ments  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  entire  life  and  character." 
Now,  anyone  who  reads  his  evidence  cannot  fail  to 
observe  that  he  did  intend  to  cover  Lincoln's  entire 
life  and  character.  There  is  not  in  it  the  slightest 
intimation  that  he  referred  merely  to  a  part  of  his 
life.  Indeed,  there  is  one  statement  in  his  evidence 
which  utterly  precludes  such  an  assumption.  He 
expressly  says :  "  I  never  heard  that  Lincoln 
changed  his  views,  though  his  personal  and  political 
friend  from  1834  to  1860."  But  Keed  must  have  a 
sufficient  portion  of  his  life  reserved  in  which  to  in 
ject  the  story  of  his  alleged  conversion ;  and  so 
Mathenv's  offense  was  condoned  on  the  condition 


162  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

that  he  retain  the  earlier  part  of  Lincoln's  life  for 
his  testimony  to  rest  upon,  and  concede  the  remain 
der  to  Eeed  for  "  The  Later  Life  and  Eeligious 
Sentiments  of  Lincoln."  This  division  of  Lincoln's 
life  is  quite  indefinite,  but  Eeed  would  have  us  be 
lieve  that  Colonel  Matheny's  evidence  relates  wholly 
to  that  portion  of  his  life  anterior  to  1848,  when  Dr. 
Smith  began  the  task  of  Christianizing  him 
Matheny's  disclaimer  is  dated  Dec.  16,  1872.  Oi 
Dec.  9,  1873,  he  made  the  following  explanation, 
which  was  published  in  a  Springfield  paper  : 

"  What  I  mean,  in  my  Eeed  letter,  by  Mr.  Lincoln's 
earlier  life,  is  his  whole  life  and  history  in  Illinois. 
In  Illinois,  and  up  to  the  time  he  left  for  Washing 
ton,  he  was,  as  I  understand  it,  a  confirmed  Infidel. 
What  I  mean  by  Mr.  Lincoln's  later  life,  is  his 
Washington  life,  where  he  associated  with  religious 
people,  when  and  where  I  believe  he  thought  he 
became  a  Christian.  I  told  Mr.  Eeed  all  this  just 
before  signing  the  letter  spoken  of.  I  knew  nothing 
of  Mr.  Lincoln's  investigation  into  the  subject  of 
Christianity." 

He  says  that  his  evidence  "  is  a  mere  collection  of 
sayings  gathered  from  private  conversations."  It 
is  doubtless  true  that  he  had  many  private  conversa 
tions  with  Mr.  Herndon  on  this  subject ;  but  his 
published  testimony  was  all  given  at  one  sitting,  and 
more,  he  signed  that  testimony.  Every  word  attributed 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  163 

to  him  in  Lainon's  work,  and  repeated  in  this  chap 
ter,  originally  appeared  above  his  signature. 

The  concluding  words  of  his  disclaimer  are  as  fol 
lows  : 

"  While  I  do  believe  Mr.  Lincoln  to  have  been  an 
Infidel  in  his  former  life,  when  his  mind  was  as  yet 
unformed,  and  his  associations  principally  with 
rough  and  skeptical  men,  yet  I  believe  he  was  a  very 
different  man  in  later  life  ;  and  that  after  associating 
with  a  different  class  of  men,  and  investigating  the 
subject,  he  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  Christian 
religion." 

These  words,  as  modified  by  the  following,  con 
stitute  a  most  remarkable  statement : 

"In  Illinois,  and  up  to  the  time  he  left  for  Wash 
ington,  he  was,  as  I  understand  it,  a  confirmed  In 
fidel.  What  I  mean  by  Mr.  Lincoln's  later  life,  is 
his  Washington  life,  where  he  associated  with  re 
ligious  people." 

Colonel  Matheny  confines  Lincoln's  Infidelity  to 
that  portion  of  his  life  "  when  his  mind  was  as  yet 
unformed,"  and  affirms  that  this  portion  comprised 
all  the  years  preceding  his  removal  to  Washington 
in  1861.  Thus  during  the  first  fifty-two  years  of 
Lincoln's  life,  "his  mind  was  as  yet  unformed." 
His  enviable  reputation  as  one  of  the  foremost  law 
yers  of  Illinois  was  achieved  while  "  his  mind  was 
as  yet  unformed  ;"  when  his  friends  sent  him  to  Con- 


164  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

gress  "  his  mind  was  as  yet  unformed;"  when  he  made 
his  Bloomington  speech,  "  his  mind  was  as  y  3t 
unformed ;"  when  he  delivered  his  famous  Spring 
field  speech,  "  his  mind  was  as  yet  unformed  ;" 
when  he  conducted  his  masterly  debates  wilh 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  "his  mind  was  as  yet  un 
formed  ;"  when  he  prepared  and  delivered  th.it 
model  of  political  addresses,  the  Cooper  In 
stitute  address,  "  his  mind  was  as  yet  unformed  ;" 
when  at  the  Chicago  Convention  he  outstripped 
in  the  race  for  Presidential  nominee  such  emi 
nent  leaders  as  Seward  and  Chase,  "his  mh  d 
was  as  yet  unformed  ;"  when  he  was  elected  Chief 
Magistrate  of  this  great  nation,  "  his  mind  was  as 
yet  unformed." 

It  was  only  by  leaving  Illinois  and  going  to  Wash 
ington  that  he  was  thrown  into  religious  society. 
Washington  politicians  are  noted  for  their  piety, 
you  know.  According  to  Matheny  cl  al.t  New  Salem 
was  a  second  Sodom,  Springfield  a  second  Gomorrah 
and  Washington  a  sort  of  New  Jerusalem,  inhabited 
chiefly  by  saints 

Neither  in  Matheny 's  letter,  nor  in  his  interpreta 
tion  of  this  letter,  is  there  a  word  to  indicate  that  he 
recognized  the  fact  that  Lincoln  went  to  Washington 
to  assume  the  office  and  perform  the  duties  of  Presi 
dent.  On  the  contrary,  the  whole  tenor  of  his  re 
marks  is  to  the  effect  that  he  believed  the  people 


WAS    HE    A   CHRISTIAN?  165 

sent  him  there  on  account  of  his  wickedness,  and 
while  "  his  mind  was  as  jet  unformed,"  to  attend  a 
reform  school,  and  that  subsequently  he  entered  a 
theological  seminary,  and  there  died. 

The  most  amusing  feature  of  Matheny's  letter 
is  that  he  unwittingly  certifies  that  his  own  character 
was  not  good.  He  declares  that  Lincoln  was  an 
Infidel  because  his  associations  were  "  with  rou^h 

O 

and  skeptical  men ;"  but  that  after  removing  to 
Washington  and  "  associating  with  a  different  class 
of  men "  he  became  a  Christian.  Now,  it  is  well 
known  that  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  of  his 
"rough  and  skeptical"  associates  in  Illinois  was 
James  H.  Matheny. 

Colonel  Matheny,  in  his  explanatory  remarks, 
says  :  "  I  believe  he  thought  he  became  a  Christian  ;" 
and  in  almost  the  next  breath  says.  "  I  knew  nothing 
of  Mr.  Lincoln's  investigation  into  the  subject  of 
Christianity."  Can  anything  be  more  unreasonable 
than  this  ?  Colonel  Matheny  knowing  that  Lincoln 
was  a  confirmed  Infidel — an  Infidel  when  he  went  to 
Washington — knowing  nothing  about  his  having 
afterward  investigated  Christianity — knowing  that 
he  had  no  time  for  such  an  investigation,  and  yet 
believing  that  Lincoln  thought  he  became  a  Chris 
tian  !  Why  did  he  not  mention  this  when  he  gave 
his  testimony  ?  The  fact  is,  he  did  not  believe  that 
Lincoln  became  a  Christian ;  but  with  an  orthodox 


166  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  I 

club  raised  above  his  head,  he  found  it  very  con 
venient  to  profess  to  believe  it. 

As  Mr.  Reed  has  endeavored  to  prove  that  Lain  on 
and  Herndon  did  not  faithfully  report  the  evidence 
of  Stuart  and  Matheny,  it  is  but  just  that  Mr.  Herti- 
don,  who  took  down  their  testimony,  be  permitted  to 
speak  in  his  own  defense.  In  his  Springfield  lecture, 
delivered  in  Major  Stuart's  town,  if  not  in  his  pres 
ence,  referring  to  Stuart's  testimony,  he  says  : 

"  Mr.  Stuart  did  not  write  the  note  and  no  or  e 
ever  said  he  did.  What  is  there  stated  was  the  sub 
stance  of  a  conversation  between  Mr.  Stuart  and  my- 
self  about  Mr.  Lincoln's  religion.  I  took  down  in  a 
note  in  his  office  and  in  his  presence  his  words  an  1 
ideas  as  I  did  in  other  cases.  The  conversation 
spoken  of  took  place  in  Mr.  Stuart's  office,  and  in  the 
east  room.  Mr.  Stuart  does  not  deny  that  the  not.} 
is  substantially  correct.  He  simply  says  he  could 
not  have  said  that  Dr.  Smith  tried  to  convert  Mr. 
Lincoln,  and  couldn't  do  it.  I  well  remember  that 
he  did  use  this  language.  It  seemed  to  do  him  good 
to  say  it.  ...  It  seems  that  Mr.  Stuart  had 
heard  that  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Dr.  Smith  had  much 
discussion  about  Christianity,  but  he  failed  to  hear 
of  Mr.  Lincoln's  conversion,  or  anything  like  it,  and 
well  might  he  say,  as  he  did,  that  '  Dr.  Smith  tried 
to  convert  Mr.  Lincoln,  but  couldn't  do  //.' ' 

Any  charitably  disposed  person,  knowing  the  gen- 


WAS    HE    A   CHRISTIAN?  167 

eral  good  character  of  both  men,  instead  of  crying 
"  Fraud !"  as  Reed  has  done,  will  readily  conclude 
that  Mr.  Herndon  was  mistaken,  or  that  Mr.  Stuart 
had  forgotten  just  what  he  did  say,  and  is  it  not 
more  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the  latter  gentle 
man,  in  the  lapse  of  six  years,  should  have  forgotten 
some  things  he  said,  than  that  Mr.  Herndon,  who 
recorded  them  the  moment  they  were  uttered,  should 
be  mistaken  ? 

Alluding  to  Colonel  Matheny's  evidence,  in  the 
same  lecture,  Mr.  Herndon  says  : 

"  The  next  gentleman  introduced  by  Mr.  Reed  is 
Col.  James  H.  Matheny.  He  is  made  to  say,  in  a 
letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Reed,  that  he  did  not  write 
the  statement  in  Lamon's  'Life  of  Lincoln.'  I  do  not 
claim  that  he  did.  I  wrote  it  in  the  court  house— 
this  hall — in  Mr.  Matheny's  presence,  and  at  his 
dictation.  I  read  it  over  to  him  and  he  approved  it. 
I  wrote  it  all  at  once  as  he  spoke  it  to  me ;  it  is  not 
made  up  of  scraps — '  a  mere  collection  of  sayings 
gathered  from  private  conversations,  that  were  only 
true  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  earlier  life.'  I  say  that  this 
statement  was  written  all  at  one  time  and  place,  and 
not  at  different  times  and  places.  Let  any  critic, 
any  man  of  common  sense,  read  it  and  he  will  say  : 
'  This  was  all  written  at  once.'  I  appeal  to  the 
manner — the  close  connection  of  words  and  ideas  in 
which  it  runs — word  with  word,  sentence  with  sen- 


168  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

tence,  and  idea  with  idea,  for  the  proof  that  it  was 
made  at  one  sitting.  Mr.  Matheny  has  often  tol  1 
me  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  an  Infidel.  He  admits  this 
in  his  letter  to  Mr.  Reed.  He  never  intimated  in 
that  or  any  other  conversation  with  me  that  Ii3 
believed  that  Mr.  Lincoln  in  his  later  life  became  i 
Christian." 

In  a  letter  dated  Sept.  14,  1887,  Mr.  Herndo.i 
writes : 

"  I  acted  in  this  matter  honestly,  and  I  will  always 
abide  by  my  notes  taken  down  at  the  time.  I  wa^ 
cautious — very  careful  of  what  I  did,  because  I 
knew  that  the  church  would  damn  me  and  prove  mo 
false  if  it  could.  I  stood  on  the  exactness  of  truth 
squarely." 

I  have  thus  far  assumed  that  Stuart  and  Matheny 
really  wrote  the  letters  of  disclaimer  addressed  to 
Reed.  Mr.  Reed  states  that  he  is  "  amazed  to  find  " 
that  they  did  not  write  the  statements  attributed  to 
them  by  Lamon.  The  reader  is  by  this  time  suifi- 
ciently  familiar  with  this  reverend  gentleman's 
methods  that  he  will  not  be  "  amazed  to  find  "  thai 
Stuart  and  Matheny  did  not  write  these  disclaimers. 
I  now  affirm  that  James  H.  Matheny  did  not  write  a 
word  of  the  letter  purporting  to  have  been  written 
by  him.  It  was  written  by  tlte  Rev.  J.  A.  Reed  !  We 
have  not  the  expressed  declaration  of  Mr.  Stuart 
that  this  is  true  of  the  letter  imputed  to  him,  but 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  169 

there  is  other  evidence  which  makes  it  clearly  ap 
parent  that  this  letter  was  also  written  by  Mr.  Reed. 

Nor  is  this  all.  I  shall  now  endeavor  to  show 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  evidence  presented  by 
Reed,  in  his  lecture,  was  composed  and  written  by 
himself.  Let  us  take  the  four  letters  credited 
respectively  to  Edwards,  Lewis,  Stuart,  and  Matheny. 
I  shall  attempt  to  demonstrate  the  common  origin  of 
these  letters,  first,  by  their  form ;  secondly,  by  the 
language  of  their  contents. 

The  different  forms  employed  in  epistolary  corre 
spondence  are  numerous,  far  more  numerous  than 
generally  supposed.  To  illustrate  :  four  hundred 
letters,  written  by  as  many  different  persons,  and  all 
addressed  to  the  same  person,  were,  without  examina 
tion,  divided  into  one  hundred  parcels  of  four  letters 
each.  They  were  then  examined  in  regard  to  the 
form  employed  by  the  writer.  The  heading,  the  ad 
dress,  the  introduction,  and  the  subscription  were 
noted — no  attention  being  paid  to  the  body  of  the 
letter,  or  the  signature.  In  not  one  of  these  one 
hundred  parcels  were  found  four  letters  having  the 
same  form.  The  heading  of  these  letters  exhibited 
nine  different  forms ;  the  address,  fourteen ;  the 
introduction,  eight ;  and  the  subscription,  eleven. 

Again,  nearly  every  writer  employs  certain  idioms 
of  language  that  are  peculiar  to  him,  and  which 
reveal  his  identity,  even  though  he  tries  to  conceal  it. 


170  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

Let  us  now  institute  a  brief  analysis  of  the  fo  ir 
letters  under  consideration.  Errors  will  be  noticed, 
not  for  the  purpose  of  reflecting  upon  the  literacy 
attainments  of  the  writer,  but  solely  with  a  view  <>f 
discovering  his  identity.  These  are  mostly  of  a 
trivial  character,  confined  to  marks  of  punctuation, 
etc.;  and  it  is  a  recognized  fact  that  a  majority  of 
educated  persons,  including  many  profession.il 
writers,  are  more  or  less  deficient  in  the  art  of 
punctuation.  In  proof  of  the  common  authorship  of 
these  four  letters,  the  following  reasons  are  sub 
mitted  : 

1.  In  all  of  them  we  recognize  a  stiff  formality — a 
studied  effort  to  conform  to  one  ideal  standard. 

2.  All  of  them  were   written  at  Springfield,  III, 
and  all  omit  the  name  of  the  state. 

3.  In  each  of  them,  the  day  of  the  month  is  fol 
lowed  by  the  suffix  "th."     This,  if  not  wholly  im 
proper,  is  not   common  usage.     Had    these    letters 
been  written  by  the  four  persons  to  whom   they  are 
ascribed,  at  least  three   of  them  would   have  omit 
ted  it. 

4.  In   all,   but   one,    the    address   is  "  Rev.   J.  A. 
Reed,"  and  in  the  exception  the  writer  merely  sub 
stitutes  "  Jas."  for  "J." 

5.  In  each  of  them  the  address   is   followed  by  a 
colon  instead  of  a  comma,  the   proper  mark  to  use. 
Had  they  been  written  by  four  persons,  it  is  possible 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  171 

that  a  part,  or  even  all,  would  have  made  an  error, 
but  it  is  highly  improbable  that  all  would  have 
made  the  same  error. 

6.  In  these  letters,   the   introductory   words    are 
uniformly  "  Dear  Sir  " — the  most  common  form  of 
introduction,  and  the  one  that  a  writer,  in  drafting 
a  letter  addressed  to  himself,  would  most  naturally 
employ. 

7.  In  every  instance,  the  introduction  is  followed 
by  a  dash  instead  of  a  colon — a  uniformity  of  error, 
again. 

8.  In  the   subscription,  the  term,  "  Yours  truly," 
is  invariably  used,  except  in  the  Lewis  letter,  which 
concludes  with  ''Yours,  etc." 

9.  The  Edwards  letter  and  the  Lewis  letter  begin 
with  the  same  idea,  expressed  in  nearly  the  same 
words.    Edwards  is  made  to  say,  "  A.short  time  after 
the  Eev.  Dr.   Smith,"  etc.;  and  Lewis — "Not  long 
after  Dr.  Smith." 

10.  Omitting   the   introductory   sentence    in    the 
Stuart  letter,  which  is  merely  the  expansion  of  an 
idea  used  in  writing  the  Matheny  letter  on  the  pre 
ceding  day,  the  Stuart  and  Matheny  letters   begin 
with  the  same   idea.     Stuart  says :  "  The  language 
of  that  statement  is  not  mine  ;  it  was  not  written  by 
me."     Matheny  says :  "  The   language  attributed  to 
me     ...     is   not  from  my  pen.     I  did  not  write 
it."     Beed  himself  uses  substantially  the  same  Ian- 


172  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  I 

guage  that  is  ascribed  to  them.  Had  their  state 
ments,  as  published  in  Lamon's  work,  been  forgeries, 
or  grossly  inaccurate,  they  might  have  used  the 
language  quoted  above.  Cinder  the  circumstances 
they  would  not  have  used  it.  Major  Stuart  and 
Colonel  Matheny  were  lawyers,  not  pettifoggers. 

11.  These  prefatory  sentences  of  Stuart  and  M.i- 
theny  both  begin  with  the  same  words — "the  lan 
guage." 

12.  In  both  the  Edwards  and  Lewis  letters,  refer 
ence  is  made  to  a  theological  work  which  Dr.  Smith 
is  said  to  have  written.     The  writer  of  neither  letter 
is  able  to  state  the  name  of  the  book;  Dr.  Reed   is 
unable  to  state  the  name  of  it ;  Dr.  Smith  himse  f 
does    not    mention   the  name    of  it;    but  he  docs 
plainly  state   that  it  was  a  work  on  the  Bible.     For 
"  the  business  he  had  on  hand,"  however,  it  suited 
Reed's  purpose  better  to  give  a  semi-erroneous   im 
pression  of  its  character,  and   so   he   affirms  that  it 
was    a    work   on   "the    evidences    of    Christianity.'' 
Curiously  enough,  in  the  Edwards  letter  and  again 
in  the  Lewis  letter,  the  book  is  described  as  a  work 
on  "  the  evidences  of  Christianity." 

13.  The  Edwards  letter  reports  Lincoln  as  saying  : 
"  I  have  been  reading  a  work  of  Dr.  Smith  on  the. 
evidences  of  Christianity"     The  Lewis  letter  repre 
sents  him  as  saying  that  "  He  had  seen  and  partially 
read  a  tvorlc  of  Dr.  Smith  on  the  evidences  of  Christian- 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN  ?  173 

ity."     Here   are   ten  consecutive   words   in   the  two 
letters  identical. 

14.  Mr.  Reed,  in  his  lecture,  never  once  uses  the 
word  "  Christianity,"  except  as  above  noticed  to  de 
scribe  Dr.  Smith's  book ;   he  always  uses  the  words 
"  the  Christian  religion  " — employing  this   term  no 
less  than  seven  times.     This   usage   is  not  common. 
An  examination  of  various  theological  writings  shows 
that  "  Christianity  "  is  used  twenty  times  where  "  the 
Christian  religion  "  is  used  once.     Yet  in  these  letters 
the  word  "  Christianity  "  is  not  to  be  found,  except  in 
the  same  sense  as  used  by  Dr.  Eeed,  while  "  the  Chris 
tian   religion  "  occurs  in  each  of  the  four  letters. 

15.  "The    truth    of   the    Christian  religion"  is  a 
favorite  phrase  with  Eeed,  occurring  three  times  in 
his  lecture.     This  phrase  also  occurs  three  times  in 
these  letters — once  in  the  Edwards  letter,  and  twice 
in  the  Stuart  letter. 

16.  Eeed  has  much  to  say  about  Lincoln's  "  life 
and   religious    sentiments  ;"    in  fact,  his   lecture  is 
entitled,  "  The  Later  Life  and  Eeligious  Sentiments 
of  Abraham  Lincoln."     In  the  Matheny  letter,  too, 
we    find    "Mr.   Lincoln's   life   and   religious    senti 
ments." 

17.  The    words    "earlier"    and    "later"    are  fre 
quently  used  by  Eeed  in  connection  with  Lincoln's 
life.     The  same  words   are  used   in  the   Stuart  and 
Matheny  letters,  and  in  the  same  connection. 


174  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  I 

18.  The   Stuart  letter  is,  for  the  most  part,   de 
voted  to  the  narration  of  "some  facts"  which   Mi. 
Stuart  is  said  to  have   presented  to  Mr.  Herndou, 
beginning  with  this  :     "  That  Eddie,  a  child  of  Mr. 
Lincoln,    died    in    1848   or    1849,"    etc.     Now,    Mi. 
Stuart   well  knew   that,   during  all    this   time,    Mr. 
Herndon  was  the  intimate  associate  of  Lincoln  and 
thoroughly  familiar  with  every  event  in  his  history. 
The  "  facts  "  given  in  this  letter  are  not  such  as  Mr. 
Stuart  would  have  communicated  to  Mr.  Herndon, 
but    they    are    such    as    Mr.   Reed    would  naturally 
desire  to  place  before  the  public. 

19.  Nothing  in  Dr.  Reed's  career  has  excited  his 
vanity  more  than  the  fact  that  he  was  pastor   of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Springfield — the  church 
which   Lincoln   once    attended.     Consequently,    the 
"  First  Presbyterian  Church  "  is   a  conspicuous  ob 
ject  in  his  lecture,  and  nowhere  is  it   more   conspic 
uous  than  in  these  letters.     In  the  Stuart  letter  it 
appears  three  times,   and  the  writer  never  fails  to 
state  that  it  was  the  "  First  Presbyterian  Church  " 
— the  church  of  which  Dr.  Reed  was  pastor. 

20.  According  to  the  principle  of  accretion,  if  two 
articles  or  letters  are  written  on   the  same  subject, 
the  second   will   usually   be    longer   than    the  first. 
This  is  true  of  these  letters.     The  Lewis  letter,  re 
lating  to    Smith's   reputed    conversion    of   Lincoln, 
was  written  after  the  Edwards  letter  relative  to  the 


WAS    HE    A   CHRISTIAN  ?  175 

same  subject,  and  is  longer.  The  Stuart  disclaimer, 
which  is  the  longer  of  the  two,  was  written  after  the 
Matheny  disclaimer. 

From  the  foregoing,  is  it  not  clearly  evident  that 
these  four  letters  were  all  written  by  the  same  per 
son  ?  If  so,  then  knowing  that  Dr.  Reed  wrote  one 
of  them,  the  Matheny  letter,  does  it  not  necessarily 
follow  that  he  wrote  them  all  ? 

In  the  Gurley  testimony,  such  expressions  as  "the 
Christian  religion"  and  "  the  truth  of  the  Christian 
religion,"  together  with  the  Reed  story  concerning 
Lincoln's  intention  of  making  a  profession  of  relig 
ion,  reveal  the  authorship  of  this  testimony  also. 


176  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  I 


GHAPTEK  IX. 

TESTIMONY     OF     THE     REMAINING    WITNESSES    PRESENTED 
BY   LAMON. 

Dr.  C.  II.  Ray — Win.  H.  Hannah,  Ksq. — James  W.  Keys— 1  on. 
Jesse  W.  Fell — Col.  John  G.  Nicolay — Hon.  David  Davis— Mrs.  Mary 
Lincoln — [njustice  to  Mrs.  Lincoln— Answer  to  Reed's  Pretended  Ref 
utation  of  the  Testimony  of  Lamon's  Witnesses. 

SEVEN  of  Lamon's  witnesses — Ray,  Hannah,  Keys, 
Fell,  Nicolay,  Davis,  and  Mrs.  Lincoln — -remain  to 
testify.  The  testimony  of  these  witnesses  will  now 
be  presented. 

DR.    C.   H.  RAY. 

Dr.  Hay,  editor  of  the  Chicago  Tribune,  a  promi 
nent  figure  in  Illinois  politics  thirty  years  ago,  and 
a  personal  friend  and  admirer  of  Lincoln,  testifies  as 
follows  : 

"  You  knew  Mr.  Lincoln  far  better  than  I  did, 
though  I  knew  him  well ;  and  you  have  served  up 
his  leading  characteristics  in  a  way  that  I  should 
despair  of  doing,  if  I  should  try.  I  have  only  one 
thing  to  ask  :  that  you  do  not  give  Calvinistic  theol 
ogy  a  chance  to  claim  him  as  one  of  its  saints  and 
martyrs.  He  went  to  the  Old  School  Church ;  but, 


WAS    HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  177 

in  spite  of  that  outward  assent  to  the  horrible 
dogmas  of  the  sect,  I  have  reason  from  himself  to 
know  that  his  '  vital  purity,'  if  that  means  belief  in 
the  impossible,  was  of  a  negative  sort"  (Lamon's 
Life  of  Lincoln,  pp.  489,  490). 

Dr.  Ray  states  that  Lincoln  held  substantially  the 
same  theological  opinions  as  those  held  by  Theodore 
Parker. 

WILLIAM   H.  HANNAH. 

A  leading  member  of  the  Bloomington  bar, 
when  Lincoln  practiced  there,  was  Wm.  H. 
Hannah.  He  was  an  honest,  truthful  man,  and 
knew  Lincoln  well.  Concerning  Lincoln's  views 
on  the  doctrine  of  endless  punishment,  Mr.  Han 
nah  says  : 

"  Since  1856  Mr.  Lincoln  told  me  that  he  was  a 
kind  of  immortalist ;  but  that  he  never  could  bring 
himself  to  believe  in  eternal  punishment ;  that  man 
lived  but  a  little  while  here,  and  that,  if  eternal 
punishment  were  man's  doom,  he  should  spend  that 
little  life  in  vigilant  and  ceaseless  preparation  by 
never-ending  prayer  "  (Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  489). 

JAMES  W.  KEYS. 

Mr.  Jas.  "W.  Keys,  an  old  and  respected  citizen  of 
Springfield,  who  became  acquainted  with  Lincoln 
soon  after  his  removal  there,  and  who  had  many  con- 


178  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

versations    with   him    on   the   subject   of   theolog}, 
says : 

"As  to  the  Christian  theory,  that  Christ  is  Goc, 
or  equal  to  the  Creator,  he  said  that  it  had  better 
be  taken  for  granted  ;  for,  by  the  test  of  reason,  \v  ^ 
might  become  Infidels  on  that  subject,  for  evidence 
of  Christ's  divinity  came  to  us  in  a  somewhat  doubt 
ful  shape  "  (Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  490). 

HON.  JESSE  W.  FELL. 

Jesse  W.  Fell,  who  died  at  Bloomington  in  tli-5 
spring  of  1887,  was  one  of  the  best  known  and  most 
highly  respected  citizens  of  Illinois.  He  was  Secre 
tary  of  the  Republican  State  Central  Commitee  dur 
ing  the  memorable  Lincoln-Douglas  campaign,  and 
was  largely  instrumental  in  bringing  Lincoln  forward 
as  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  in  I860.  It  was 
for  him  that  Lincoln  wrote  an  autobiographical 
sketch  of  his  life,  which  formed  the  basis  of  his  cam 
paign  biographies,  the  foe-simile  of  which  appears 
in  Lamon's  "Life  of  Lincoln,"  and  in  the  "Lincoln 
Memorial  Album."  Mr.  Fell  was  a  Christian  of  tho 
Unitarian  denomination,  and  there  were  few  men  for 
whom  Lincoln  had  a  more  profound  respect.  The 
following  is  his  testimony  : 

"  Though  everything  relating  to  the  character  of 
this  extraordinary  personage  is  of  interest,  and 
should  be  fairly  stated  to  the  world,  I  enter  upon  the 


WAS   HE  A   CHRISTIAN?  179 

performance  of  this  duty — for  so  I  regard  it — with 
some  reluctance,  arising  from  the  fact  that,  in  stating 
my  convictions  on  the  subject,  I  must  necessarily 
place  myself  in  opposition  to  quite  a  number  who 
have  written  on  this  topic  before  me,  and  whose 
views  largely  pre-occupy  the  public  mind.  This 
latter  fact,  whilst  contributing  to  my  embarrassment 
on  this  subject,  is,  perhaps,  the  strongest  reason, 
however,  why  the  truth  in  this  matter  should  be 
fully  disclosed ;  and  I  therefore  yield  to  your  request. 
If  there  were  any  traits  of  character  that  stood  out 
in  bold  relief  in  the  person  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  they 
were  those  of  truth  and  candor.  He  was  utterly  in 
capable  of  insincerity,  or  professing  views  on  this 
or  any  other  subject  he  did  not  entertain. 
Knowing  such  to  be  his  true  character,  that  insin 
cerity,  much  more  duplicity,  were  traits  wholly 
foreign  to  his  nature,  many  of  his  old  friends  were 
not  a  little  surprised  at  finding,  in  some  of  the 
biographies  of  this  great  man,  statements  concerning 
his  religious  opinions  so  utterly  at  variance  with  his 
known  sentiments.  True,  he  may  have  changed  or 
modified  those  sentiments  after  his  removal  from 
among  us,  though  this  is  hardly  reconcilable  with 
the  history  of  the  man,  and  his  entire  devotion  to 
public  matters  during  his  four  years'  residence  at 
the  national  capital.  It  is  possible,  however,  that 
this  may  be  the  proper  solution  of  this  conflict  01 


180  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN: 

opinions;  or,  it  maybe,  that,  with  no  intention  on 
the  part  of  anyone  to  mislead  the  public  mind,  those 
who  have  represented  him  as  believing  in  the 
popular  theological  views  of  the  times  may  have  mis 
apprehended  him,  as  experience  shows  to  be  quite 
common  where  no  special  effort  has  been  made  to 
attain  critical  accuracy  on  a  subject  of  this  native. 
This  is  the  more  probable  from  the  well-known  fj  ct 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  seldom  communicated  to  anyone 
his  views  on  this  subject.  But,  be  this  as  it  may,  I 
have  no  hesitation  whatever  in  saying  that,  whilst 
he  held  many  opinions  in  common  with  the  great 
mass  of  Christian  believers,  he  did  not  believe  in 
what  are  regarded  as  the  orthodox  or  evangelical 
views  of  Christianity. 

"  On  the  innate  depravity  of  man,  the  character 
and  office  of  the  great  head  of  the  church,  the  atone 
ment,  the  infallibility  of  the  written  revelation,  the 
performance  of  miracles,  the  nature  and  design  of 
present  and  future  rewards  and  punishments  (MS 
they  are  popularly  called)  and  many  other  subjects, 
he  held  opinions  utterly  at  variance  with  what  are 
usually  taught  in  the  church.  I  should  say  that  his 
expressed  views  on  these  and  kindred  topics  were 
such  as,  in  the  estimation  of  most  believers,  would 
place  him  entirely  outside  the  Christian  pale.  Yet, 
to  my  mind,  such  was  not  the  true  position,  since  his 
principles  and  practices  and  the  spirit  of  his  whole 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  181 

life  were  of  the  very  kind  we  universally  agree  to 
call  Christian  ;  and  I  think  this  conclusion  is  in  no 
wise  affected  by  the  circumstance  that  he  never  at 
tached  himself  to  any  religious  society  whatever. 

"  His  religious  views  were  eminently  practical, 
and  are  summed  up,  as  I  think,  in  these  two  proposi 
tions  :  '  the  fatherhood  of  God,  and  the  brotherhood 
of  man.'  He  fully  believed  in  a  superintending  and 
overruling  Providence  that  guides  and  controls  the 
operations  of  the  world,  but  maintained  that  law  and 
order,  and  not  their  violation  or  suspension,  are 
the  appointed  means  by  which  this  Providence  is 
exercised. 

"  I  will  not  attempt  any  specification  of  either  his 
belief  or  disbelief  on  various  religious  topics,  as  de 
rived  from  conversations  with  him  at  different  times 
during  a  considerable  period ;  but,  as  conveying  a 
general  view  of  his  religious  or  theological  opinions, 
will  state  the  following  facts  :  Some  eight  or  ten 
years  prior  to  his  death,  in  conversing  with  him  on 
this  subject,  the  writer  took  occasion  to  refer,  in 
terms  of  approbation,  to  the  sermons  and  writings 
generally  of  Dr.  W.  E.  Channing ;  and,  finding  he 
was  considerably  interested  in  the  statement  I  made 
of  the  opinions  held  by  that  author,  I  proposed  to 
present  him  a  copy  of  Channing's  entire  works, 
which  I  soon  after  did.  Subsequently,  the  contents 
of  these  volumes,  together  with  the  writings  of 


182  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

Theodore  Parker,  furnished  him,  as  he  informed  me, 
by  his  friend  and  law-partner,  Mr.  Herndon,  became 
naturally  the  topics  of  conversation  with  us ;  and 
though  far  from  believing  there  was  an  entire  har 
mony  of  views  on  his  part  with  either  of  those 
authors,  yet  they  were  generally  much  admired  s.ncl 
approved  by  him. 

"  No  religious  views  with  him  seemed  to  find  any 
favor,  except  of  the  practical  and  rationalistic  ordor  ; 
and  if,  from  my  recollections  on  this  subject,  I  was 
called  upon  to  designate  an  author  whose  views  most 
nearly  represented  Mr.  Lincoln's  on  this  subject,  I 
would  say  that  author  was  Theodore  Parker. 

"As  you  have  asked  from  me  a  candid  statement 
of  my  recollections  on  this  topic,  I  have  thus  briefly 
given  them,  with  the  hope  that  they  may  be  of  some 
service  in  rightly  settling  a  question  about  which — 
as  I  have  good  reason  to  believe — the  public  mind 
has  been  greatly  misled.  Not  doubting  that  they 
will  accord,  substantially,  with  your  own  recollec 
tions,  and  that  of  his  other  intimate  and  confidential 
friends,  and  with  the  popular  verdict  after  this  mat 
ter  shall  have  been  properly  canvassed,  I  submit 
them"  (Life  of  Lincoln,  pp.  490-492). 

Mr.  Fell's  testimony  is  full  and  explicit.  He 
affirms  that  Lincoln  rejected  nearly  all  the  leading 
tenets  of  orthodox  Christianity  ;  the  inspiration  of 
the  Scriptures,  the  divinity  of  Christ,  the  innate  de- 


WAS    HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  183 

pravity  of  man,  the  atonement,  the  performance  of 
miracles,  and  future  rewards  and  punishments. 
''His  expressed  views  on  these  and  kindred  topics," 
Mr.  Fell  says,  "  were  such  as,  in  the  estimation  of 
most  believers,  would  place  him  entirely  outside  the 
Christian  pale."  Mr.  Fell,  himself,  was  not  disposed 
to  withhold  from  Lincoln  the  appellation  of  Chris 
tian,  but  it  was  only  because  he  stood  upon  the  broad 
Liberal  Christian,  or  rather  non-Christian,  platform 
which  permitted  him  to  welcome  a  Theist,  like 
Parker ;  a  Pantheist,  like  Emerson ;  or  even  an 
Agnostic,  like  Ingersoll. 

COL.  JOHN  G.  N I  CO  LAY. 

The  next  witness  introduced  by  Lamon,  is  Col. 
John  G.  Nicolay,  Lincoln's  private  secretary  at  the 
White  House.  Nicolay's  relations  with  the  President 
were  more  intimate  than  those  of  any  other  man. 
To  quote  the  words  of  Lincoln's  partner,  "  Mr.  Lin 
coln  loved  him  and  trusted  him."  His  testimony  is 
among  the  most  important  that  this  controversy  has 
elicited.  It  proves  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  doubt 
that  all  these  stories  concerning  Lincoln's  alleged 
conversation  at  Washington  are  false,  that  he  did  not 
change  his  belief,  that  he  died  as  he  had  always 
lived — a  Freethinker.  In  a  letter  written  May  27, 
1865,  just  six  weeks  after  Lincoln's  death,  Colonel 
Nicolay  says : 


184  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  I 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not,  to  my  knowledge,  in  any  way, 
change  his  religious  ideas,  opinions  or  beliefs,  fro-n 
the  time  he  left  Springfield  till  the  day  of  his  death. 
I  do  not  know  just  what  they  were,  never  having 
heard  him  explain  them  in  detail,  but  I  am  very  sure 
he  gave  no  outward  indications  of  his  mind  having 
undergone  any  change  in  that  regard  while  here  ' 
(Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  492). 

HON.  DAVID  DAVIS. 

One  of  the  most  important,  and  in  some  respects 
the  most  eminent  witness  summoned  to  testify  in 
regard  to  this  question,  is  the  Hon.  David  Davis.  In 
moral  character  he  stood  above  reproach,  in  intel 
lectual  ability,  almost  without  a  peer.  Every  step  in 
his  career  was  marked  by  unswerving  integrity  and 

J  O  JD          */ 

freedom  from  prejudice.  His  rulings  and  decisions 
in  the  lower  courts  of  Illinois,  and  on.  the  bench  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  commanded 
uniyersal  respect.  As  a  legislator,  his  love  of  truth 
and  justice  prevented  him  from  being  a  political 
partisan.  As  United  States  Senator  and  Vice-Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  the  party  that  elected  him 
could  obtain  his  support  for  no  measure  that  he 
deemed  unjust.  Referring  to  his  acquaintance  with 
Lincoln,  Judge  Davis  says :  "  I  enjoyed  for  over 
twenty  years  the  personal  friendship  of  Mr.  Lincoln. 
We  were  admitted  to  the  bar  about  the  same  time, 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  185 

and  traveled  for  many  years  what  is  known  in 
Illinois  as  the  Eighth  Judicial  Circuit.  In  1848, 
when  I  first  went  on  the  bench,  the  circuit  embraced 
fourteen  counties,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  went  with  the 
court  to  every  county."  A  large  portion  of  this  time 
they  passed  in  each  other's  company.  They  often 
rode  in  the  same  vehicle,  generally  ate  at  the  same 
table,  and  not  infrequently  slept  together  in  the 
same  bed.  The  closest  intimacy  existed  between 
them  as  long  as  Lincoln  lived,  and  when  he  died, 
Mr.  Davis  became  his  executor.  Judge  Davis  would 
not  intentionally  have  misrepresented  the  opinions 
of  an  enemy,  much  less  the  opinions  of  his  dear  dead 
friend.  Briefly,  yet  clearly,  he  defines  the  theolog 
ical  views  of  Lincoln  : 

"  He  had  no  faith,  in  the  Christian  sense  of  the 
term — had  faith  in  laws,  principles,  causes,  and 
effects — philosophically  "  (Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  489). 

Speaking  of  the  many  stories  that  had  been  circu 
lated  concerning  Lincoln's  religious  belief,  such  as 
the  Bateman  and  Vinton  interviews,  together  with 
the  various  pious  speeches  he  is  reported  to  have 
made  to  religious  committees  and  delegations  that 
visited  him,  such  as  his  reputed  speech  to  the 
Negroes  of  Baltimore,  Judge  Davis  says  : 

"  The  idea  that  Lincoln  talked  to  a  stranger  about 
his  religion  or  religious  views,  or  made  such 
speeches,  remarks,  <fec.,  about  it  as  are  published,  is 


186  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

to  me  absurd.  I  knew  the  man  so  well.  He  was  the 
most  reticent,  secretive  man  I  ever  saw,  or  expect  to 
see  "  (Ibid). 

MRS.   MARY  LINCOLN. 

But  one  of  Lamon's  witnesses  remains — the  wife  of 
the  martyred  President.  Her  testimony  ought  of 
itself  to  put  this  matter  at  rest  forever.  Mrs.  Lin 
coln  says  : 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  had  no  hope,  and  no  faith,  in  the 
usual  acceptation  of  those  words  "  (Life  of  Lincoln, 
p.  489). 

In  addition  to  what  Colonel  Lamon  has  presented, 
Mrs.  Lincoln  also  stated  the  following  : 

"  Mr.  Lincoln's  maxim  and  philosophy  were, 
*  What  is  to  be,  will  be,  and  no  prayers  of  ours  can 
arrest  the  decree.'  He  never  joined  any  church.  He 
was  a  religious  man  always,  I  think,  but  was  not  a 
technical  Christian"  (Herndon's '•  Religion  of  Lin 
coln  "). 

It  may  be  charged  that  Mrs.  Lincoln  subsequently 
repudiated  a  portion  of  this  testimony.  In  anticipa 
tion  of  such  a  charge  I  will  here  state  a  few  facts. 
This  testimony  was  given  by  Mrs.  Lincoln  in  1865. 
When  it  was  given,  while  her  heart  was  pierced  by 
the  pangs  of  her  great  grief,  her  mind  was  sound. 
About  Jan.  1,  1874.  a  brief  article,  purporting  to 
come  from  her  pen,  appeared,  in  which  the  testimony 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  187 

attributed  to  her  was  in  part  denied.  At  the  time 
this  denial  was  written,  Mrs.  Lincoln  had  been  for 
more  than  two  years  insane.  The  chief  cause  in  de 
throning  her  reason  was  the  death  of  her  universally 
beloved  Tad  (Thomas),  which  occurred  on  July  15, 
1871.  Referring  to  this  sad  event,  Mr.  Arnold,  one 
of  the  principal  witnesses  on  the  Christian  side  of 
this  controversy,  says  :  "  From  this  time  Mrs.  Lin 
coln,  in  the  judgment  of  her  most  intimate  friends, 
was  never  entirely  responsible  for  her  conduct " 
(Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  439). 

The  only  effect  of  this  denial  on  the  minds  of  those 
acquainted  with  the  circumstances,  was  to  excite  a 
mingled  feeling  of  pity  and  disgust — pity  for  this 
unfortunate  woman,  and  disgust  for  the  contemptible 
methods  of  those  who  would  take  advantage  of  her 
demented  condition  and  make  her  contradict  the 
honest  statements  of  her  rational  life. 

Before  dismissing  this  witness,  I  wish  to  advert 
to  a  subject  with  which  many  of  my  readers  are 
familiar.  For  years,  both  before  and  after  Lincoln's 
death,  the  religious  press  of  the  country  was  contin 
ually  abusing  Mrs.  Lincoln.  If  a  ball  was  held  at  the 
White  House,  she  became  at  once  the  recipient  of 
unlimited  abuse.  If  Lincoln  attended  the  theater, 
she  was  accused  of  having  dragged  him  there  against 
his  will.  It  was  ahnost  uniformly  asserted  that  he 
would  not  have  gone  to  the  theater  on  that  fatal 


188  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

night  had  it  not  been  for  her,  and  in  not  a  few  ii:  - 
stances  it  was  infamously  hinted  that  she  was  cogni 
zant  of  the  plot  to  murder  him.  But  even  the  RCA. 
Dr.  Miner,  who  was  acquainted  with  the  facts,  i-; 
willing  to  vindicate  her  from  these  imputations.  H>v 
says  :  "It  has  been  said  that  Mrs.  Lincoln  urged  he •• 
husband  to  go  to  the  theater  against  his  will.  This 
is  not  true.  On  the  contrary,  she  tried  to  persuade 
him  not  to  go." 

Lincoln's  biographers  have,  for  the  most  part,  en 
deavored  to  do  his  wife  justice,  and  have  rebuked  the 
insults  showered  upon  her.  Alluding  to  President 
and  Mrs.  Lincoln,  Mr.  Herndon  says:  "All  that  I  kinn\ 
ennobles  both."  Colonel  Lamon  says :  "  Almost  ever 
since  Mr.  Lincoln's  death  a  portion  of  the  press  has 
never  tired  of  heaping  brutal  reproaches  upon  his 
wife  and  widow,  whilst  a  certain  class  of  his  friends 
thought  they  were  honoring  his  memory  by  multi 
plying  outrages  and  indignities  upon  her  at  the  very 
moment  when  she  was  broken  by  want  and  sorrow, 
defamed,  defenseless,  in  the  hands  of  thieves,  and  at 
the  mercy  of  spies."  Mr.  Arnold  says  :  "  There  is 
nothing  in  American  history  so  unmanly,  so  devoid 
of  every  chivalric  impulse  as  the  treatment  of  this 
poor,  broken-hearted  woman." 

The  evidence  of  Colonel  Lamon' s  ten  witnesses 
lias  now  been  presented.  This  evidence  includes,  in 
addition  to  the  testimony  of  other  intimate  friends, 


WAS   HE    A   CHRISTIAN?  189 

the  testimony  of  his  wife ;  the  testimony  of  his  first 
law  partner,  Hon.  John  T.  Stuart ;  the  testimony  of 
his  last  law  partner,  Hon.  Wm.  H.  Herndon ;  the  tes- 
timoiij-  of  his  friend  and  political  adviser,  Col.  James 
H.  Matheny ;  the  testimony  of  his  private  secretary, 
Col.  John  G.  Nicolay  ;  and  the  testimony  of  his  life 
long  friend  and  executor  after  death,  Judge  David 
Davis.  No  one  can  read  this  evidence  and  then 
honestly  affirm  that  Abraham  Lincoln  was  a  Chris 
tian.  This  is  the  evidence,  the  perusal  of  which  so 
thoroughly  enraged  that  good  Christian  biographer, 
Dr.  J.  G.  Holland ;  this  is  the  evidence,  the  truthful 
ness  of  which  the  Rev.  J.  A.  Reed,  unmindful  of  the 
fate  of  Ananias,  attempted  to  deny. 

As  a  full  and  just  answer  to  this  attempted  refuta 
tion  of  Lamon's  witnesses  by  Reed,  I  quote  from  the 
New  York  World  the  following  : 

"  This  individual  testimony  is  clear  and  over 
whelming,  without  the  documentary  and  other  evi 
dence  scattered  profusely  through  the  rest  of  the 
volume.  How  does  Mr.  Reed  undertake  to  refute 
it  ?  In  the  first  place,  firstly,  he  pronounces  it  a 
'  libel,'  and  in  the  second  place,  secondly,  he  is 
4  amazed  to  find  ' — and  he  says  he  has  found — that 
the  principal  witnesses  take  exception  to  Mr. 
Lamon's  report  of  their  evidence.  This  might  have 
been  true  of  many  or  all  of  Mr.  Lamon's  witnesses 
without  exciting  the  wonder  of  a  rational  man.  Few 


190  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

persons,  indeed,  are  willing  to  endure  reproach 
merely  for  the  truth's  sake,  and  popular  opinion  h 
the  Republican  party  of  Springfield,  111.,  is  probably 
very  much  against  Mr.  Lamon.  It  would,  therefore 
be  quite  in  the  natural  order  if  some  of  his  witnesses 
who  find  themselves  unexpectedly  in  print  shouh 
succumb  to  the  social  and  political  terrorism  o ' 
their  place  and  time,  and  attempt  to  modify  or  ex 
plain  their  testimony.  They  zealously  assisted  Mr. 
Herndon  in  ascertaining  the  truth,  and  while  the} 
wanted  him  to  tell  it  in  full  they  were  prudently  re 
solved  to  keep  their  own  names  snugly  out  of  sight. 
But  Mr.  Reed's  statement  is  not  true,  and  his 
amazement  is  entirely  simulated.  Two  only  out  oi 
the  ten  witnesses  have  gratified  him  by  inditing,  at 
his  request,  weak  and  guarded  complaints  of  unfair 
treatment.  These  are  John  T.  Stuart,  a  relative  of 
the  Lincolns  and  Edwardses,  and  Jim  Matheny, 
both  of  Springfield,  whom  Mr.  Lincoln  taught  his 
peculiar  doctrines,  but  who  may  by  this  time  be 
deacons  in  Mr.  Reed's  church.  Neither  of  them 
helps  Mr.  Reed's  case  a  particle.  Their  epistles 
open,  as  if  by  concert,  in  form  and  words  almost 
identical.  They  say  they  did  not  write  the  language 
attributed  to  them.  The  denial  is  wholly  unneces 
sary,  for  nobody  affirms  that  they  did  write  it. 
They  talked  and  Mr.  Herndon  wrote.  His  notes 
were  made  when  the  conversation  occurred,  and 


WAS   HE  A  CHRISTIAN?  191 

probably  in  their  presence.  At  all  events,  they  are 
both  so  conscious  of  the  general  accuracy  of  his  re 
port  that  they  do  not  venture  to  deny  a  single  word 
of  it,  but  content  themselves  with  lamenting  that 
something  else,  which  they  did  not  say,  was  excluded 
from  it.  They  both,  however,  in  these  very  letters, 
repeat  emphatically  the  material  part  of  the  state 
ments  made  by  them  to  Mr.  Herndon,  namely,  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  to  their  certain  knowledge,  until  a 
very  late  period  of  his  life,  an  '  Infidel,'  and  neither 
of  them  is  able  to  tell  when  he  ceased  to  be  an  Infi 
del  and  when  he  began  to  be  a  Christian.  And  this 
is  all  Mr.  Heed  makes  by  his  re-examination  of  the 
two  persons  whom  he  is  pleased  to  exalt  as  Mr. 
Lamon's  '  principal  witnesses.'  They  are  but  two 
out  of  the  ten.  What  of  the  other  eight  ?  They 
have  no  doubt  been  tried  and  plied  by  Mr.  Reed  and 
his  friends  to  no  purpose  ;  they  stand  fast  by  the 
record.  But  Mr.  Reed  is  to  be  shamed  neither  by 
their  speech  nor  their  silence." 


192  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN: 


CHAPTER   X. 

TES1IMONY   OF   LINCOLN'S    RELATIVES    AND   INTIMATE   AS 
SOCIATES. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Lincoln — Dennis  F.  Hanks — Mrs.  Matilda  Moore — John 
Hall — Win.  McXeely — Wm.  G.  Green — Joshua  F.  Speed — Green  C;i  -u- 
thers — John  Decamp — Mr.  Lynan — James  B.  Spaulding — E/ra  String- 
ham — Dr.  G.  H  Ambrose — J.  II.  Cheneiy — Squire  Perkins — W.  Par 
kins — James  Gorley — Dr.  Wm.  Jayne — Jesse  K.  Dubois — Hon.  Joseph 
Gillespie — Judge  Stephen  T.  Logan — Hon.  Leonard  Swett. 

WERE  I  to  rest  my  case  here,  the  evidence  already 
adduced  is  sufficient,  I  think,  to  convince  any  un 
prejudiced  mind  that  Lincoln  was  not  a  Christian. 
But  I  do  not  propose  to  rest  here.  I  have  presented 
the  testimony  of  half  a  score  of  witnesses  ;  before  I 
lay  down  my  pen  I  shall  present  the  testimony  of 
nearly  ten  times  as  many  more. 

In  this  chapter  will  be  given  the  testimony  of 
some  of  the  relatives  and  intimate  associates  of  Lin 
coln.  The  testimony  of  his  relatives  confirms  tho 
claim  that  he  was  not  religious  in  his  youth  ;  the 
others  testify  to  his  unbelief  while  a  resident  of  New 
Salem  and  Springfield. 


WAS   HE   A   CHFJSTIAN?  193 

MRS.  SARAH  LINCOLN. 

If  there  was  one  person  to  whom  Lincoln  was 
more  indebted  than  to  any  other,  it  was  his  step 
mother,  Sally  Lincoln,  a  beautiful  woman — beautiful 
not  only  in  face  and  form,  but  possessed  of  a  most 
lovely  character.  She  was  not  highly  educated,  but 
she  loved  knowledge,  and  inspired  in  her  step-son  a 
love  for  books.  She  was  a  Christian,  but  she 
attached  more  importance  to  deed  than  to  creed. 
She  loved  Lincoln.  After  his  death  she  said  :  "  He 
was  dutiful  to  me  always.  I  think  he  loved  me  truly. 
I  had  a  son,  John,  who  was  raised  with  Abe.  Both 
were  good  boys  ;  but  I  must  say,  both  now  being 
dead,  that  Abe  was  the  best  boy  I  ever  saw,  or  expect 
to  see."  Lincoln  was  too  good  and  too  great  not  to 
appreciate  this  woman's  care  and  affection. 

When  the  materials  for  Lincoln's  biography  were 
being  collected,  Mrs.  Lincoln  was  cousidered  the 
most  reliable  source  from  which  to  obtain  the  facts 
pertaining  to  his  boyhood.  Her  recollections  of  him 
\vere  recorded  with  the  utmost  care.  His  Christian 
biographers,  in  order  to  make  a  Sunday-school  hero 
of  him,  have  declared  him  to  be  a  youth  remarkable 
for  his  Christian  piety  and  his  love  of  the  Bible. 
The  statements  of  Mrs.  Lincoln  disprove  this  claim. 
The  substance  of  her  testimony,  as  given  by  Lamon, 
is  given  as  follows  : 


194  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

"  His  step-mother — herself  a  Christian,  and  long 
ing  for  the  least  sign  of  faith  in  him — could  remem 
ber  no  circumstance  that  supported  her  hope.  On 
the  contrary,  she  recollected  very  well  that  he  never 
went  off  into  a  corner,  as  has  been  said,  to  ponder 
the  sacred  writings,  and  to  wet  the  page  with  his 
tears  of  penitence  "  (Life  of  Lincoln,  pp.  486,  487 > 

"  The  Bible,  according  to  Mrs.  Lincoln,  was  not  0113 
of  his  studies  ;  '  he  sought  more  congenial  books  ' 
At  that  time  he  neither  talked  nor  read  upon  religious 
subjects.  If  he  had  any  opinions  about  them,  he 
kept  them  to  himself"  (Ibid,  p.  38). 

DENNIS  F.  HANKS. 

The  next  witness  is  Lincoln's  cousin,  Dennis 
Hanks.  Mr.  Hanks  held  "  the  pulpy,  red,  little 
Lincoln"  in  his  arms  before  he  was  "twenty-four 
hours  old,"  and  remained  his  constant  companion 
during  all  the  years  that  he  lived  in  Kentucky  and 
Indiana.  He  lived  a  part  of  the  time  in  the  Lincoln 
family,  and  married  one  of  Lincoln's  step-sisters.  I 
met  him  recently  at  Charleston,  111.  With  evident 
delight  he  rehearsed  the  story  of  Lincoln's  boyhood, 
and  reaffirmed  the  truthfulness  of  the  following 
statements  attributed  to  him  by  Lincoln's  biogra 
phers  : 

"  Abe  wasn't  in  early  life  a  religious  man.  He  was 
a  moral  man  strictly.  ...  In  after  life  he  be- 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  195 

came  more  religious ;  but  the  Bible  puzzled  him, 
especially  the  miracles  "  (Every-Day  Life  of  Lin 
coln,  p.  54). 

"'Religious  songs  did  not  appear  to  suit  him  at 
all,'  says  Dennis  Hanks  ;  but  of  profane  ballads  and 
amorous  ditties  he  knew  the  words  of  a  vast 
number. 

"  Another  was : 

'Hail  Columbia,  happy  land! 
If  you  ain't  drunk.  I'll  be  damned,' 

a  song  which  Dennis  thinks  should  be  warbled  only 
in  the  '  fields ;'  and  tells  us  they  knew  and  enjoyed 
'  all  such  songs  as  this  ' '  (Lamon's  Life  of  Lincoln, 
pp.  58,  59). 

The  fitness  of  the  above  coarse  travesty  to  be 
warbled,  even  in  the  fields,  may  well  be  doubted. 
Larnon  would  hardly  have  recorded  it,  and  I  cer 
tainly  should  not  quote  it,  but  for  the  fact  that  it 
strikingly  illustrates  one  phase  of  Lincoln's  "  youth 
ful  piety." 

Among  the  many  Christian  hymns  which  Lincoln 
parodied,  Mr.  Hanks  recalls  the  following  : 

"  How  tedious  and  tasteless  the  hours." 
"  When  I  can  read  my  title  clear." 
"  Oh!  to  grace  how  great  a  debtor!" 
"  Come,  thou  fount  of  every  blessing." 


196  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

MRS.  MATILDA  MOORE. 

Mrs.  Lincoln's  first  husband  was  named  Johnston. 
By  him  she  had  three  children,  a  son  and  two  daugh 
ters.  The  latter,  like  their  mother,  developed  into 
noble  specimens  of  womanhood ;  and  both  loved 
Lincoln  as  tenderly  as  though  he  had  been  their 
own  brother.  The  elder  was  married  to  Dennis 
Hanks;  the  younger,  Matilda,  married  Lincolr's 
cousin,  Levi  Hall,  and,  after  his  death,  a  gentleman 
named  Moore. 

Lamon  says  that  Lincoln  in  his  youth  made  a 
mockery  of  the  popular  religion ;  not  from  any  lack 
of  reverence  for  what  he  believed  to  be  good,  but  be 
cause  "  he  thought  that  a  person  had  better  be  witti- 
out  it."  That  he  was  accustomed  to  turn  so-callod 
sacred  subjects  into  ridicule  is  attested  by  his  step 
sister,  Mrs.  Moore.  She  says  : 

"  When  father  and  mother  would  go  to  church, 
Abe  would  take  down  the  Bible,  read  a  verse,  give 
out  a  hymn,  and  we  would  sing.  Abe  was  about 
fifteen  years  of  age.  He  preached  and  we  would  do 
the  crying  "  (Every-Day  Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  71). 

JOHN  HALL. 

On  the  28th  of  April,  1888,  the  writer,  in  company 
with  Mr.  Charles  Biggs,  of  Westfield,  111.,  visited  the 
old  Lincoln  homestead,  near  Farmington,  111.  We 
dined  with  Mr.  John  Hall,  a  son  of  Lincoln's  step- 


WAS    HE   A    CHRISTIAN  ?  197 

sister  Matilda,  in  the  old  log-house  built  by  Lincoln's 
father  sixty  years  ago,  and  in  which  his  father  and 
step-mother  died.  Mr.  Hall,  who  owns  the  home 
stead  and  preserves  with  zealous  care  this  venerable 
relic,  is  an  intelligent  farmer  over  sixty  years  of  age. 
He  greatly  reveres  the  memory  of  his  illustrious 
uncle  and  loves  to  dwell  on  his  many  noble  traits  of 
character.  He  stated  that  the  family  tradition  is 
that  while  Abe  was  a  most  honest  and  humane  boy 
he  was  not  religious.  He  referred  to  the  mock  ser 
mons  he  is  said  to  have  preached.  "  At  these  meet 
ings,"  said  Mr.  Hall,  "my  mother  would  lead  in  the 
singing  while  Uncle  Abe  would  lead  in  prayer. 
Among  his  numerous  supplications,  he  prayed  God 
to  put  stockings  on  the  chickens'  feet  in  winter." 

WILLIAM  McNEELY. 

William  McNeely,  of  Petersburg,  111.,  who  became 
acquainted  with  Lincoln  in  1831,  when  he  arrived  at 
New  Salem  on  a  flatboat,  says  : 

"  Lincoln  said  he  did  not  believe  in  total  depravity, 
and  although  it  was  not  popular  to  believe  it,  it  was 
easier  to  do  right  than  wrong ;  that  the  first  thought 
was :  what  was  right  ?  and  the  second — what  was 
wrong  ?  Therefore  it  was  easier  to  do  right  than 
wrong,  and  easier  to  take  care  of,  as  it  would  take 
care  of  itself.  It  took  an  effort  to  do  wrong,  and  a 


198  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

still  greater  effort   to  take  care  of  it;  but  do  right 
and  it  would  take  care  of  itself. 

"  I  was  acquainted  with  him  a  long  time,  and  I 
never  knew  him  to  do  a  wrong  act"  (Lincoln  Me 
morial  Album,  pp.  393-395). 

WILLIAM   G.   GREEN. 

One  of  Lincoln's  early  companions  at  New  Sale  n 
was  William  G.  Green.  He  and  Lincoln  clerked  in 
the  same  store  and  slept  together  on  the  same  cot. 
The  testimony  of  Mr.  Green  has  not  been  preserved. 
We  have  simply  an  observation  of  his,  incidentally 
made,  the  substance  of  which  is  thus  presented  by 
Lamon: 

"  Lincoln's  incessant  reading  of  Shakspere  and 
Burns  had  much  to  do  in  giving  to  his  mind  the 
'  skeptical '  tendency  so  fully  developed  by  the 
labors  of  his  pen  in  1834-5,  and  in  social  conversa 
tions  during  many  years  of  his  residence  at  Spring 
field  "  (Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  145). 

Mr.  Green's  conclusion,  especially  in  regard  to 
Burns,  is  quite  generally  shared  by  Lincoln's  friends. 
Burns's  satirical  poems  were  greatly  admired  by 
Lincoln.  "Holy  Willie's  Prayer,"  one  of  the  most 
withering  satires  on  orthodox  Christianity  ever 
penned,  was  memorized  by  him.  Every  one  of  its 
sixteen  stanzas,  beginning  with  the  following,  was 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  199 

an  Infidel  shaft  which  he   delighted  to  hurl  at  the 
heads  of  his  Christian  opponents  : 

••  0  thou,  wha  in  the  heavens  dost  dwell, 
Wha,  as  it  pleases  best  thyseP, 
Sends  ane  to  heaven  and  ten  to  hell, 

A'  for  thy  glory, 
And  no  for  ony  guid  or  ill 

They've  done  afore  thee!" 

JOSHUA  F.    SPEED. 

Another  of  Lincoln's  earliest  and  best  friends  was 
Joshua  F.  Speed.  When  he  was  licensed  as  a  law 
yer  and  entered  upon  his  professional  career  at 
Springfield  without  a  client  and  without  a  dollar, 
Speed  assisted  him  to  get  a  start.  W.  H.  Herndon 
was  clerking  for  Speed  at  the  time,  and  for  more 
than  a  year  Lincoln,  Herndon  and  Speed  roomed 
together.  Referring  to  the  religious  views  held  by 
Lincoln  at  that  time,  Mr.  Speed,  in  a  lecture,  says  : 

"  I  have  often  been  asked  what  were  Mr.  Lincoln's 
religious  opinions.  When  I  knew  him,  in  early  life, 
he  was  a  skeptic.  He  had  tried  hard  to  be  a  be 
liever,  but  his  reason  could  not  grasp  and  solve  the 
great  problem  of  redemption  as  taught." 

This  is  the  testimony  of  an  orthodox  Christian, 
and  a  church-member.  Mr.  Speed,  during  the  years 
that  he  was  acquainted  with  Lincoln,  was  not  a 
member  of  any  church  ;  but  late  in  life  he  united 
with  the  Methodist  church.  As  "  the  wish  is  father 


200  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

to  the  thought,"  Mr.  Speed  professed  to  believe  tl  at 
Lincoln  before  his  death  modified,  to  some  exte  at, 
the  radical  views  of  his  early  manhood. 

GREEN    CAKUTHERS. 

Soon  after  Lincoln  removed  to  Springfield,  he  be 
came  acquainted  with  Mr.  Green  Caruthers  a:id 
remained  on  intimate  terms  with  him  during  all  tie 
subsequent  years  of  his  life.  Mr.  Caruthers  was  a 
quiet,  unobtrusive  old  gentleman,  universally  le- 
spected  by  those  who  knew  him.  The  substance  of 
his  testimony  is  as  follows  : 

"Lincoln,  Bledsoe,  the  metaphysician,  and  myself, 
boarded  at  the  Globe  hotel  in  this  city.  Bledsoe 
tended  toward  Christianity,  if  he  was  not  a  Christian. 
Lincoln  was  always  throwing  out  his  Infidelity  to 
Bledsoe,  ridiculing  Christianity,  and  especially  the 
divinity  of  Christ." 

JOHN  DECAMP. 

Another  of  Lincoln's  most  intimate  Springfield 
friends  was  John  Decamp.  Mr.  Decamp  was  inter 
viewed  by  Mr.  Herndon  regarding  Lincoln's  religious 
views  in  July,  1887.  His  statement  was  brief,  but 
to  the  point.  He  says  : 

"Lincoln  was  an  Infidel." 

MR.  LYNAN. 

In  1880,  at  Bismarck  Grove,  Kan.,  the  writer  of 
this  delivered  a  lecture  entitled,  "  Four  American 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN  ?  201 

Infidels,"  a  portion  of  which  was  devoted  to  a  pre 
sentation  of  Lincoln's  religious  views.  In  its  report 
of  the  lecture,  the  Lawrence  Standard,  edited  by 
Hon.  E.  G.  Ross,  formerly  United  States  Senator 
from  Kansas,  and  more  recently  Governor  of  New 
Mexico,  said  : 

"  In  regard  to  Abraham  Lincoln  being  an  Infidel, 
the  evidence  adduced  was  overwhelming,  and  was 
confirmed  by  a  gentleman  present,  Mr.  Lynan,  who 
had  known  him  intimately  for  thirty  years.  Mr. 
Lynan  declared  that  none  but  personal  acquaintance 
could  enable  one  to  realize  the  nobility  and  purity  of 
Lincoln's  character,  but  that  he  was  beyond  doubt 
or  question  a  thorough  disbeliever  in  the  Christian 
scheme  of  salvation  to  the  end  of  his  life  "  (Lawrence 
Standard,  Sept,  4,  1880). 

JAMES  B.   SPAULDING. 

Mr.  J.  B.  Spaulding,  well  known  as  one  of  the 
leading  nurserymen  and  horticulturists  of  the  United 
States,  a  man  of  broad  culture  and  refinement,  who 
resides  near  Springfield,  became  intimately  ac 
quainted  with  Lincoln  as  early  as  1851,  and  for  a 
long  time  resided  on  the  same  street  with  him  in 
Springfield.  Mr.  Spaulding  says  : 

"  Lincoln  perpetrated  many  an  irreverent  joke  at 
the  expense  of  church  doctrines.  Regarding  the 
miraculous  conception,  he  was  especially  sarcastic. 


202  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

He  wrote  a  manuscript  as  radical  as  Ingersoll  which 
his  political  friends  caused  to  be  destroyed." 

EZRA    STRINGHAM. 

A  short  time  since  I  was  conversing  with  a  party 
of  gentlemen  in  Riverton,  111.  It  being  near  Lin 
coln's  old  home,  the  subject  of  his  religious  belief 
was  introduced.  An  old  gentleman,  who  up  to  this 
time  had  not  been  taking  part  in  the  conversation, 
quietly  observed  :  "  I  think  I  knew  Lincoln's  relig 
ious  views  about  as  well  as  any  other  man."  "  Wh  it 
was  he  ?"  said  one  of  the  party.  "  An  Infidel  of  the 
first  water,"  was  the  prompt  response.  The  old 
gentleman  was  Ezra  Stringham,  one  of  Lincoln's 
early  acquaintances  in  Illinois. 

DR.  G.  H.  AMBROSE. 

Dr.  G.  H.  Ambrose,  of  Waldo,  Fla.,  who  was  asso 
ciated  in  the  law  business  at  Springfield  from  1846 
to  1849  with  a  relative  of  Mrs.  Lincoln,  says  : 

"Mr.  Lincoln  was  an  Infidel — an  outspoken  one.'' 

J.  H.  CHENERY. 

Mr.  J.  H.  Chenery,  one  of  Springfield's  pioneers— 
for  many  years  owner  and  proprietor  of  the  leading 
hotel  of  Springfield — says  : 

"  Reed  tried  to  prove  that  Lincoln  was  a  church 
man ;  but  everybody  here  knows  that  he  was  not. 
Once  in  a  great  while,  and  only  once  in  a  great 


WAS  HE  A  CHRISTIAN?  203 

while,  I  saw  him  accompany  his  wife  and  children 
to  church.  His  attacks  upon  the  church  were  most 
bitter  and  sarcastic.  He  wrote  a  book  against 
Christianity,  but  his  friends  got  away  with  it." 

SQUIRE  PERKINS. 

A  few  years  ago  there  died  near  Atchison,  Kan., 
an  old  gentleman  named  Perkins.  He  was  poor,  but 
honest,  and  a  bright  man  intellectually.  He  was  a 
son  of  Major  Perkins  who  was  killed  in  the  Black 
Hawk  war.  Lincoln  after  the  fight  discovered  the 
scalp  of  Major  Perkins,  which  his  savage  assassin  had 
taken  but  lost.  His  first  impulse  was  to  keep  it  and 
take  it  home  to  the  family  of  the  dead  soldier.  Then 
realizing  that  it  would  only  tend  to  intensify  their 
grief,  he  opened  the  grave  and  deposited  it  with  the 
body.  This  incident  led  to  an  intimate  acquaint 
ance  between  Lincoln  and  the  younger  Perkins.  In 
June,  1880,  Mr.  Perkins  made  the  following  state 
ment  relative  to  Lincoln's  religious  belief : 

"  During  all  the  time  that  I  was  acquainted  with 
Abraham  Lincoln  I  know  that  he  was  what  the  church 
calls  an  Infidel.  I  do  not  believe  that  he  ever 
changed  his  opinions.  When  Colfax  was  in  Atchi 
son  I  had  a  talk  with  him  about  Lincoln.  Among 
other  things,  I  asked  him  if  Lincoln  had  ever  been 
converted  to  Christianity.  He  told  me  that  he  had 
not." 


204  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

W.   PERKINS. 

Mr.  Perkins,  an  old  lawyer  and  journalist  of  Illi 
nois,  who  was  acquainted  with  Lincoln  for  upwaid 
of  twenty  years,  and  who  was  his  associate  counsol 
in  se\eral  important  cases,  writing  from  Belleview, 
Fla,,  under  date  of  August  22,  1887,  says : 

"The  unfair  efforts  that  Christians  have  been 
putting  forth  to  drag  Lincoln  into  their  waning  faith 
betray  a  pitiable  imbecility.  Were  it  possible  for 
them  to  get  the  world  to  believe  that  Washingto  i, 
Jefferson,  and  Lincoln,  all  prayed,  had  faith,  ami 
were  washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb,  would  that 
prove  the  inspiration  of  their  Bible,  harmonize  is 
contradictions,  put  a  ray  of  reason  in  its  gross  ab 
surdities,  or  humanize  the  first  one  of  its  numerous 
bloody  barbarities? 

"  I  knew  Mr.  Lincoln  from  the  spring  of  1838  till 
his  death.  Like  Archibald  Williams,  our  contem 
porary,  an  able  Lord  Coke  lawyer,  he  no  more  be 
lieved  in  the  inspiration  of  the  Bible  than  Hiune, 
Paine,  or  Ingersoll.  Less  inclined  openly  to  de 
nounce  its  absurdities  and  cruelties,  or  to  antagonize 
the  well-meaning  credulous  professors,  than  was 
Williams.  Mr.  Lincoln  had  no  faith  whatever  in  the 
first  miracle  of  the  Bible,  or  the  scheme  of  bloody 
redemption  it  teaches.  To  attribute  such  sentiments 
to  him,  is  to  tarnish  his  well-earned  reputation  for 
common  sense,  and  to  impair  the  estimation  of  his 


WAS  HE  A  CHRISTIAN?  205 

countrymen  and  the  world  of  his  high  sense  of  hu 
manity,  justice,  and  honor. 

<k  Two  of  my  Presbyterian  friends  at  Indian  Point, 
near  Petersburg,  told  me  that  they  had  interviewed 
Mr.  Lincoln  to  prevent  his  impending  duel  with 
Shields — claiming  that  it  was  contrary  to  the  Bible 
and  Christianity.  He  admitted  that  the  dueling 
code  was  barbarous  and  regretted  much  to  find  him 
self  in  its  toils,  but  said  he,  '  The  Bible  is  not  my 
book,  nor  Christianity  my  profession.' ''' 

In  some  reminiscences  of  Lincoln,  recently  pub 
lished,  referring  to  a  celebrated  murder  case  in 
which  they  were  counsel  for  the  defendant,  Mr. 
Perkins  says : 

"  I  reminded  him  that  from  the  first  I  had  seen, 
and  to  him  said,  the  case  is  hopeless,  and  that  he 
must  have  expected  to  work  a  miracle  to  save  the 
accused.  He  answered  that  I  did  him  injustice, 
since  he  had  no  faith  in  miracles." 

Alluding  to  Lincoln's  alleged  change  of  heart,  he 
writes : 

"  He  never  changed  a  sentiment  on  the  subject  up 
to  his  final  sleep." 

JAMES  GORLEY. 

Mr.  Gorley,  who  was  the  confidential  friend  of 
Lincoln,  and  who  spent  much  time  with  him,  both  at 
home  and  abroad,  made  the  following  statement : 


206  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

'•  Lincoln  belonged  to  no  religious  sect.  He  was 
religious  in  his  own  way — not  as  others  generally. 
I  do  not  think  he  ever  had  a  change  of  heart,  relig 
iously  speaking.  Had  he  ever  had  a  change  c  f 
heart  he  would  have  told  me.  He  could  not  have 
neglected  it." 

WILLIAM  JAYNE,  M.D. 

Dr.  Jayne,  who  was  appointed  Governor  of  Dakota 
by  Lincoln,  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  cf 
Springfield,  and  was  one  of  Lincoln's  ablest  and 
most  faithful  political  friends.  He  secured  Lincoln's 
nomination  for  the  Legislature  once,  and  was  one  of 
the  first  to  pit  him  against  Douglas.  In  a  letter  to 
me,  dated  August  18,  1887,  Dr.  Jayne  says  : 

"  His  general  reputation  among  his  neighbors  and 
friends  of  twenty-five  years'  standing  was  that  of  a 
disbeliever  in  the  accepted  faith  of  orthodox  Chris 
tians.  His  mind  was  purely  logical  in  its  construc 
tion  and  action.  He  believed  nothing  except  what 
was  susceptible  of  demonstration.  .  .  .  His  most 
intimate  friends  here,  and  close  to  him  in  the  confi 
dential  relations  of  life,  assert,  in  regard  to  those 
who  claim  for  Lincoln  a  faith  in  the  orthodox  Chris 
tian  belief,  that  the  claim  is  a  fraud  and  utter  non 
sense." 

HON.  JESSE  K.  DUBOIS. 

Jesse  K.  Dubois,  for  a  time  State  Auditor  of  Illi 
nois,  a  noble  and  gifted  man,  and  one  whom  Lincoln 


WAS   HE  A  CHRISTIAN?  207 

dearly  loved,  ouce  related  an  anecdote  which  shows 
that  if  Lincoln  did  believe  in  a  Supreme  Being,  he 
had  little  reverence  for  the  God  of  Christianity.  In 
company  with  Dubois,  he  was  visiting  a  family  in  or 
near  Springfield.  It  was  summer,  and  while  Dubois 
was  in  the  house  with  the  family,  Lincoln  occupied  a 
seat  in  the  yard  with  his  feet  resting  against  a  tree, 
as  was  his  wont.  The  lady,  who  was  a  very  zealous 
Christian,  called  attention  to  his  appearance  and 
commented  rather  severely  upon  his  ugliness.  When 
they  returned  home  Dubois  referred  to  the  lady's 
remarks.  Lincoln  was  silent  for  a  moment,  and  then 
said  :  "  Dubois,  I  know  that  I  am  ugly,  but  she 
worships  a  God  who  is  uglier  than  I  am." 

HQN.  JOSEPH  GILLESPIE. 

Judge  Gillespie,  of  Edwardsville,  111.,  one  of  Lin 
coln's  most  valued  friends,  writes  as  follows  : 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  seldom  said  anything  on  the  subject 
of  religion.  He  said  once  to  me  that  he  never  could 
reconcile  the  prescience  of  Deity  with  the  uncer 
tainty  of  events." 

"  It  was  difficult,"  says  Judge  Gillespie,  "  for  him 
to  believe  without  demonstration." 

JUDGE  STEPHEN  T.  LOG  AM. 

Lincoln  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1837,  when  he 
was  twenty-eight  years  of  age,  Judge  Logan  being 
on  the  bench  at  the  time.  Soon  after  his  admission 


208  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

lie  formed  a  partnership  with  John  T.  Stuart  which 
existed  nearly  four  years,  or  until  Mr.  Stuart  entered 
Congress.     He   then  became  the  partner  of   Judge 
Logan,  and   continued   in  business   with   him   until 
1843,  when  he  united   his  practice  with  that  of  Mr. 
Herndon.     The   testimony   of   Mr.    Stuart    and  Mr. 
Herndon  has   already  been  given.     No  formal  state 
ment  of  Judge  Logan  concerning  this  question  1  as 
been  preserved.     All  that  I  have  been  able  to  find  is 
contained  in  a  letter  from  Mr.  Herndon  dated  Doc. 
22.  1888.     Mr.  Herndon  wrote  in  relation  to  Lincoln's 
letter  of  consolation  to   his  dying  father.     In  L  n- 
coln's  letter,  while  Christ  and  Christianity  are  wholly 
ignored,  there  is  an  implied  recognition  of  immortal 
ity  and  an  expressed  hope   that  he  may  meet   Lis 
father  again.     Lincoln's  friends,  for   the  most  part, 
consider  the  letter  merely  conventional,  not  an  ex 
pression  of  his  real  sentiments,  but  simply  an  effort 
to  console  his  Christian  father  whom  he  could  never 
meet   again   on   earth.     Mr.    Herndon,    however,  is 
inclined  to  believe  that  while  the  tone  of  the  letter  is 
not  exactly  in  accordance  with   the  views   generally 
held  by  Lincoln,  it  is  yet  a  sincere  expression  of  the 
feelings  he  entertained  at  the   time.     Keferring  to 
this  letter,  Mr.  Herndon  says  : 

"  I  showed  the  letter  to  Logan,  Stuart,  et  al.  Logan 
laughed  in  my  face  as  much  as  to  say  :  *  Herndon,  are 
you  so  green  as  to  believe  that  letter  to  be  Lincoln's 


WAS   HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  209 

real  ideas  ? '  I  cannot  give  the  exact  words  of 
Logan,  but  he  in  substance  said  :  •  Lincoln  was  an  In 
fidel  of  the  most  radical  type.' " 

HON.  LEONARD  SWETT. 

I  close  this  division  of  my  evidence  with  the  testi 
mony  of  that  gifted  lawyer  and  honored  citizen  of 
Illinois,  Leonard  Swett.  Previous  to  his  removal  to 
Chicago,  in  1865,  Mr.  Swett  resided  in  Bloomington, 
and  for  a  dozen  years  traveled  the  old  Eighth 
Judicial  Circuit  with  Lincoln.  Few  men  knew  Lin 
coln  better  than  did  Swett,  and  none  was  held  in 
higher  esteem  by  Lincoln  than  he.  It  was  he  who 
placed  Lincoln  in  nomination  for  the  Presidency  at 
Chicago  in  1860.  I  quote  from  a  letter  written  by 
Mr.  Swett  in  1866  : 

"  You  ask  me  whether  he  [Lincoln]  changed  his 
religious  opinions  toward  the  close  of  his  life.  I 
think  not.  As  he  became  involved  in  matters  of  the 
greatest  importance,  full  of  great  responsibility  and 
great  doubt,  a  feeling  of  religious  reverence,  a  belief 
in  God  and  his  justice  and  overruling  providence  in 
creased  with  him.  He  was  always  full  of  natural 
religion.  He  believed  in  God  as  much  as  the  most 
approved  church  member,  yet  he  judged  of  him  by 
the  same  system  of  generalization  as  he  judged  every-- 
thing  else.  He  had  very  little  faith  in  ceremonials 
or  forms.  In  fact  he  cared  nothing  for  the  form  of 


210  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  : 

anything.  ...  If  his  religion  were  to  be  judged 
by  the  lines  and  rules  of  church  creeds,  he  would  fall 
far  short  of  the  standard." 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  211 


CHAPTEK  XL 

TESTIMONY  OP  FRIENDS  AND  ACQUAINTANCES   OF  LINCOLN 
WHO   KNEW    HIM   IX    ILLINOIS. 

Hon.  W.  H.  T.  Wakefield— Hon.  D.  W.  Wilder— Dr.  B.  F.  Gardner— 
Hon.  J.  K.  Vandemark — A.  Jeffrey — Dr.  Arch  E.  McNeal — Charles 

McGrew — Edward  Butler — Joseph    Stafford — Judge  A.  D.    Norton 

J.  L.  Morrell — Mahlon  Ross — L.  Wilson — H.  K.  Magie — Hon.  James 
Tuttle — Col.  F.  S.  Rutherford — Judge  Robert  Leachman — Hon.  Orin  B. 
Gould— M.  S.  Gowin— Col.  R.  G.  Ingersoll— Leonard  W.  Volk— Joseph 
Jefferson — Hon.  E.  B.  Washburn — Hon.  E.  M.  Haines. 

I  WILL  next  present  the  evidence  that  I  have 
gleaned  from  the  lips  or  pens  of  personal  friends  of 
Lincoln  who  were  acquainted  with  him  in  Illinois. 
The  relations  of  these  persons  to  Lincoln  were,  for 
the  most  part,  less  intimate  than  Avere  those  of  the 
persons  named  in  the  preceding  chapter ;  but  all  of 
them  enjoyed  in  no  small  degree  his  confidence  and 
esteem. 

HON.   W.  H.   T.   WAKEFIELD. 

Mr.  Wakefield,  our  first  witness,  is  a  son  of  the 
distinguished  jurist.  Judge  J.  A.  Wakefield.  He  is 
a  prominent  journalist,  and  was  the  nominee  of  the 
United  Labor  party,  for  Vice-President,  in  the  Presi- 


212  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

dential  contest  of  1888.  In  a  letter  to  the  autboi1, 
dated  Lawrence,  Kan.,  Sept.  28,  1880,  Mr.  Wake- 
field  says  : 

"  My  father,  the  late  Judge  J.  A.  Wakefield,  was 
a  life-long  friend  of  Lincoln's,  they  having  seived 
through  the  Black  Hawk  war  together  and  beeii  in 
the  Illinois  Legislature  together,  during  which  latter 
time  Lincoln  boarded  with  my  father  in  VaiuL  lia, 
which  was  then  the  state  capital.  I  remembe  r  of 
his  visiting  my  father  at  Galena,  in  1844  or  1845. 
They  continued  to  correspond  until  Lincoln's  death. 

"  My  father  was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  church 
and  frequently  spoke  of  and  lamented  Lincoln's  In 
fidelity,  and  referred  to  the  man}-  arguments  betwoen 
them  on  the  subject. 

"  The  noted  minister,  Peter  Cartwright,  boarded 
with  my  father  at  the  same  time  that  Lincoln  did,  and 
my  father  and  mother  told  me  of  the  many  theolog 
ical  and  philosophical  arguments  indulged  in  by 
Lincoln  and  Cartwright,  and  of  the  fact  that  they 
always  attracted  many  interested  listeners  and 
usually  ended  by  Cartwright's  getting  very  angry 
and  the  spectators  being  convulsed  with  laughter  at 
Lincoln's  dry  wit  and  humorous  comparisons." 

Lincoln's  legislative  career  at  Vandalia  extended 
from  1834  to  1837.  It  was  about  the  beginning  of 
this  period  that  he  wrote  his  book  against  Christian 
ity.  He  was  thoroughly  informed  and  enthusiastic 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  213 

in  his  Infidel  views,  and  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  on  theological  questions,  he  was  able  to 
vanquish  in  debate  even  so  eminent  a  theologian  as 
Peter  Cartwright.  Ten  years  later,  Lincoln  was  the 
Whig,  and  Cartwright  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
Congress.  In  this  campaign  a  determined  effort  was 
made  by  the  church  to  defeat  Lincoln  on  account  of 
his  Infidelity.  But  his  popularity,  his  reputation  for 
honesty,  his  recognized  ability,  and  his  transcendent 
powers  on  the  stump,  carried  him  successfully 
through,  and  he  was  triumphantly  elected. 

HON.   D.    W.    WILDER. 

One  of  the  most  gifted  and  honorable  of  Western 
journalists  is  D.  W.  Wilder,  of  Kansas.  He  was 
Surveyor  General  of  Kansas  before  it  was  admitted 
into  the  Union,  and  after  it  became  a  state,  he  held 
the  office  of  State  Auditor.  Many  years  ago  Gen. 
Wilder  wrote  and  published  an  editorial  on  Lincoln's 
religious  views  in  which  he  affirmed  that  Lincoln 
was  a  disbeliever  in  Christianity.  The  article  ex 
cited  the  wrath  of  the  clergy,  among  them  the  Kev. 
D.  P.  Mitchell,  the  leading  Methodist  divine  of 
Kansas,  who  replied  with  much  warmth,  but  with 
out  refuting  the  statements  of  Gen.  Wilder.  Some 
of  my  Western  readers  will  recall  the  article  and  the 
controversy  it  provoked.  I  have  been  unable  to 
procure  a  copy  of  it,  but  in  its  place  I  present  the 


214  ABEAHAM   LINCOLN: 

following  extract  from  a  letter  received  from  G3n. 
"Wilder,  dated  St.  Joseph,  Mo.,  Dec.  29,  1881 : 

"Lincoln  believed  in  God,  but  not  in  the  divinity 
of  Christ.  At  first,  like  Franklin,  he  was  probably 
an  Atheist.  Although  a  '  forgiving  '  man  himself,  he 
did  not  believe  tluit  any  amount  of  '  penitence  '  could 
affect  the  logical  effects  of  violated  law.  He  has  a 
remarkable  passage  on  that  theme." 

Concerning  Lincoln's  partner,  Mr.  Herndon,  with 
whom  he  was  acquainted,  Gen.  Wilder  says  : 

"  Write  to  Wm.  H.  Herndon,  a  noble  man,  Sprirg- 
field,  111.  Send  him  your  book  ['Life  of  Paine']. 
He  will  reply.  The  stories  told  about  him  are  lies." 

B.  F.  GARDNER,  M.D. 

Dr.  Gardner,  an  old  and  respected  resident  of 
Atlanta,  111.,  in  March,  1887,  made  the  following 
statement  in  regard  to  Lincoln's  views  : 

"  I  knew  Lincoln  from  1854  up  to  the  time  he  left 
Springfield.  He  was  an  Infidel.  He  did  not  change 
his  belief.  Herndon  told  the  truth  in  his  lecture. 
Lincoln  did  not  believe  that  prayer  moved  God. 
When  he  requested  the  prayers  of  his  neighbors  on 
leaving  Springfield  for  Washington,  he  saw  that  a 
storm  was  coming  and  that  he  must  have  the  sup 
port  of  the  church." 

These  words  of  Lincoln  in  his  farewell  speech 
requesting  the  prayers  of  his  friends,  though  used 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  215 

merely  in  a  conventional  way,  have  been  cited  by 
Holland,  Arnold,  and  others,  to  prove  that  he  be 
lieved  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  That  no  such  im 
port  was  attached  to  them  at  the  time  is  admitted  by 
Holland  himself.  He  says  :  "  This  parting  address 
was  telegraphed  to  every  part  of  the  country,  and 
was  strangely  misinterpreted.  So  little  was  the 
man's  character  understood  that  his  simple  and 
earnest  request  that  his  neighbors  should  pray  for 
him  was  received  by  many  as  an  evidence  both  of 
his  weakness  and  his  hypocrisy.  No  President  had 
ever  before  asked  the  people,  in  a  public  address,  to 
pray  for  him.  It  sounded  like  the  cant  of  the  con 
venticle  to  ears  unaccustomed  to  the  language  of 
piety  from  the  lips  of  politicians.  The  request  was 
tossed  about  as  a  joke — '  old  Abe's  last '  "  (Holland's 
Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  254). 

HON.  J.   K.  VANDEMARK, 

J.  K.  Vandemark,  who  formerly  resided  near 
Springfield,  111.,  and  who  was  well  acquainted  with 
Lincoln,  on  the  13th  of  October,  1887,  at  Valparaiso, 
Neb.,  testified  as  follows  : 

"I  met  Lincoln  often— had  many  conversations 
with  him  in  his  office.  To  assert  that  he  was  a  be 
liever  in  Christianity  is  absurd.  He  had  no  faith  in 
the  dogmas  of  the  church." 

Mr.  Vandemark    at   the    time    his   testimony  was 


216  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

given   was   a   member  of  the   State  Senate  of   Ne 
braska. 

A.    JEFFREY. 

Mr.  Jeffrey,  who  has  resided  near  Waynesville, 
111.,  for  a  period  of  fifty  years,  and  who  was  in  t  le 
habit  of  attending  court  with  Lincoln,  year  after 
year,  in  an  interview  on  the  1st  of  March,  1887,  made 
the  following  statement  : 

"  Lincoln  was  decidedly  Liberal.  He  admitted  th  at 
he  wrote  a  book  against  Christianity.  In  later 
years  he  seldom  talked  on  this  subject,  but  he  d  d 
not  change  his  belief.  A  thrust  at  the  doctrine  of 
endless  punishment  always  pleased  him.  This  doo- 
trine  he  abhorred." 

DR.   ARCH  E.    McNEALL. 

Dr.  McNeall,  an  old  physician  of  Bowen,  111., 
who  was  a  delegate  to  the  Decatur  Convention 
which  brought  Lincoln  forward  as  a  candidate  for 
the  Presidency,  says  : 

"  I  met  Lincoln  often  during  our  political  cam 
paigns,  and  was  quite  well  acquainted  with  him.  I 
know  that  he  was  a  Liberal  thinker." 

CHARLES    McGREW. 

Dr.  McGrew  is  a  resident  of  Coles  County,  111.— 
the  county  in  which  nearly  all  of  Lincoln's  relatives 
have  resided  for  sixty  years.  He  is  a  cousin  of  Hon. 


WAS    HE   A    CHRISTIAN  ?  217 

Allen  G.  Thurman,  and  is  a  man  of  sterling  charac 
ter.  He  was  for  a  time  related  to  Lincoln,  in  a 
business  way,  and  met  him  frequently.  I  met  Dr. 
McGrew  in  1888,  and  when  I  propounded  the 
question,  "  Was  Lincoln  a  Christian  ?"  he  replied  : 

"  Lincoln  was  not  a  Christian.  He  was  cautious 
and  reserved  and  seldom  said  anything  about  relig 
ion  except  when  he  was  alone  with  a  few  companions 
whose  opinions  were  similar  to  his.  On  such  occa 
sions  he  did  not  hesitate  to  express  his  unbelief." 

EDWARD    BUTLER. 

Early  in  1858,  Lincoln  delivered  his  memorable 
Springfield  speech  which  prepared  the  way  for  his 
debates  with  Douglas,  and  made  him  President  of  the 
United  States.  Mr.  Edward  Butler,  who  resided  in 
Springfield  for  a  period  of  twenty-six  years,  and  who 
was  well  acquainted  with  Lincoln,  was  leader  of  the 
band  which  furnished  the  music  on  this  occasion. 
In  a  letter  written  at  Lyons,  Kan.,  Jan.  16,  1890,  Mr. 
Butler  relates  some  incidents  connected  with  the 
meeting,  and  quotes  a  passage  from  Lincoln's  speech 
to  the  effect  that  from  the  agitation  of  the  slavery 
question,  truth  would  in  the  end  prevail.  Alluding 
to  this  passage,  Mr.  Butler  says : 

"  Shortly  after  the  meeting  referred  to,  I  chanced 

to  be   talking  with   Lincoln  and  quizzingly  enquired 

ow  he  could  reconcile  this  and  similar  utterances 


218  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN! 

with  Holy  Writ?  Without  committing  himself,  h-3 
enquired  if  I  had  read  Gregg's  '  Creed  of  Christen 
dom.'  I  informed  him  that  I  had  not.  'Then,'  said 
he,  '  read  that  book  and  perhaps  you  may  ascertain 
my  views  about  truth  prevailing.'  I  never  conversed 
with  Lincoln  afterwards,  but  I  obtained  the  boot, 
which  I  keep  treasured  in  my  library.  I  am  welt 
convinced  that  no  man  who  is  used  to  weighing 
evidence,  especially  of  Lincoln's  humane  and  un 
biased  disposition,  can  read  the  book  in  question 
without  truth  corning  to  the  surface." 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  state  that  Gregg's  "  Creed 
of  Christendom  "  is  a  standard  work  in  Infidel  litera 
ture,  one  of  the  most  scholarly,  powerful  and  con 
vincing  arguments  against  orthodox  Christianity 
ever  written. 

JOSEPH  STAFFORD. 

Joseph  Stafford,  a  resident  of  Galesburg,  111.,  and 
an  acquaintance  of  Lincoln,  says  : 

"  I  know  that  Lincoln  was  a  Liberal." 

JUDGE  A.  D.  NORTON. 

In  April,  1893,  at  Ardmore,  I.  T.,  I  met  Judge 
Norton,  of  Gainesville,  Tex.,  an  old  acquaintance  of 
Lincoln  and  Douglas.  Judge  Norton  related  many 
interesting  reminiscences  of  these  noted  men. 
Speaking  of  Lincoln's  religion,  he  said  : 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  219 

"  For  nearly  fifty  years  I  was  a  resident  of  Illinois. 
I  practiced  for  many  years  in  the  same  courts  with 
Lincoln  and  knew  him  well.  He  was  an  Infidel.  In 
his  early  manhood  he  wrote  a  book  against  Chris 
tianity  which  his  friends  prevented  him  from  pub 
lishing.  Because  he  had  become  famous,  the  church 
preached  him  from  a  theatre  to  heaven." 

J.    L.    MORRELL. 

Mr.  J.  L.  Morrell,  a  worthy  citizen  of  Virden,  111., 
who  came  to  Illinois  soon  after  Lincoln  did,  settled 
in  the  adjoining  county  to  him,  and  like  him  fol 
lowed  for  a  time  the  avocation  of  surveyor,  in  a 
conversation  with  the  writer,  on  the  8th  of  February, 
1889,  made  the  following  statement : 

"  I  knew  Lincoln  well — met  him  often.  His  relig 
ion  was  the  religion  of  common  sense.  He  went 
into  this  subject  as  deep  as  any  man.  He  did  not 
believe  the  inconsistencies  of  theology.  He  was  not 
a  Christian." 

MKHLON  ROSS,  ESQ. 

Squire  Boss,  another  old  resident  of  Virden,  111., 
a  lawyer,  and  a  writer  of  some  repute,  says  : 

"  I  was  acquainted  with  Lincoln,  but  never  talked 
with  him  on  religion.  He  did  not  belong  to  church, 
and  his  friends  say  that  he  was  not  a  Christian." 


220  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

LUSK   WILSON. 

Similar  to  the  above  is  the  testimony  of  Mr. 
Lusk  Wilson,  a  prominent  and  respectable  citizen  oi 
Litchfield,  111.  : 

"  I  was  acquainted  with  Abraham  Lincoln,  but 
never  heard  him  give  his  views  on  the  subject  of 
religion.  His  partner,  Herndon,  and  other  friends, 
state  that  he  was  not  a  believer  in  Christianity." 

HON.  JAMES   TUTTLE. 

Two  miles  east  of  Atlanta,  111.,  resides  one  of  the 
pioneers  of  Illinois,  James  Tuttle,  now  over  eighty 
years  of  age.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Constitu 
tional  Convention  of  1847,  and  is  a  man  universally 
esteemed  for  his  love  of  truth  and  honesty.  Mr. 
Tuttle's  residence  is  situated  on  the  state  road 
leading  from  Springfield  to  Bloomington.  In  going 
from  Springfield  to  Bloomington,  to  attend  court, 
and  in  returning  home  again,  Lincoln  always  stopped 
over  night  with  Mr.  Tuttle.  Theological  questions 
were  favorite  topics  with  both  of  them,  and  the 
evening  hours  were  usually  spent  in  conversations  of 
this  character.  Mr.  Tuttle  accordingly  became  well 
acquainted  with  Lincoln's  religious  views.  Feb.  26, 
1887,  at  Mmier,  111.,  he  made  the  following  statement 
relative  to  them  : 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not  believe  in  Christianity.  He 
denounced  it  unsparingly.  .He  had  the  greatest  con- 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  221 

tenipt  for  religious  revivals,  and  called  those  who 
took  part  in  them  a  set  of  ignoramuses.  He  was 
one  of  the  most  ardent  admirers  of  Thomas  Paine  I 
ever  met.  He  was  continually  quoting  from  the 
'Age  of  Reason.1  Said  he,  '  I  never  tire  of  reading 
Paine.'  " 

Mr.  Tuttle  is  confident  that  Lincoln  always  re 
mained  a  Freethinker,  and  believes  that  those  who 
claim  to  have  evidence  from  him  to  the  contrary, 
willfully  affirm  what  they  know  to  be  false. 

H.    K.   MAG/E. 

Mr.  Magie  formerly  lived  in  Illinois,  and  was  for 
a  time  connected  with  the  State  Department  at 
Springfield.  Writing  from  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  March 
19,  1888,  he  says  : 

"  My  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Lincoln  was  limited, 
as  I  did  not  reside  in  Springfield  during  his  resi 
dence  there.  I  met  him  during  his  campaign  with 
Douglas  at  different  times,  and  was  with  him  once 
for  three  days.  .  .  .  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  Free 
thinker  of  the  Thomas  Paine  type.  There  have  been 
picked  up  some  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  utterances  about 
'  Providence,'  *  God,'  and  the  like,  on  which  an  at 
tempt  is  made  to  make  him  out  a  Christian.  Those 
who  knew  him  intimately  agree  in  the  statement  that 
he  was  a  pronounced  skeptic." 

Mr.  Magie    also   refers   to   the   Infidel   pamphlet 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  '. 

written  by  Lincoln.  His  knowledge  regarding  this, 
however,  was  derived,  not  from  Lincoln  himself,  but 
from  his  friends.  He  says  : 

"  At  one  time  he  wrote  a  criticism  of  the  New 
Testament  which  he  proposed  to  publish  and  which 
his  friends  succeeded  in  having  suppressed,  solely 
because  of  their  regard  for  his  political  future." 

In  a  recent  contribution  to  a  New  York  paper  from 
Washington,  D.  C.,  Mr.  Magie  writes  as  follows  : 

"  I  have  always  been  fully  persuaded  in  my  own 
mind  that  it  would  have  been  utterly  impossible  for 
a  man  possessing  that  intuitive  wisdom,  keenness  of 
logic,  and  discernment  of  truth,  which  were  the 
marked  characteristics  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  mind,  ever 
to  have  subscribed  to  the  atrocious  doctrines  of  the 
Christian  church.  He  was  developed  far  above  it, 
and  although  making  no  war  upon  the  church,  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  speak  his  mind  freely  upon  these 
subjects  upon  all  proper  occasions.  I  lived  in 
Springfield  among  his  old  neighbors  for  many  years, 
and  I  have  talked  with  many  of  them,  and  to  those 
who  had  good  opportunity  to  know  his  views  touch 
ing  religious  matters.  All,  without  exception, 
classed  him  among  the  skeptics.  It  was  not  until 
after  his  death  that  he  was  claimed  as  a  Christian. 

"  I  am  sorry  for  Newton  Bateman.  He  has  placed 
himself  in  a  most  awkward  predicament  by  trying  to 
keep  out  of  one.  .  .  .  He  permitted  Mr.  Holland 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN? 

to  circulate  an  atrocious  falsehood  in  his  '  Life  of 
Lincoln'  rather  than  incur  '  unpleasant  notoriety '  by 
a  firm  and  courageous  denial." 

"  It  is  not  a  matter  of  much  importance  as  to  just 
what  Abraham  Lincoln  did  believe  concerning  God, 
the  Bible,  or  the  man  Jesus,  but  when  we  discover 
an  earnest,  persistent,  mean,  and  wicked  attempt  by 
lying  and  deceitful  men  to  pervert  the  truth  in  this 
matter,  in  order  that  their  '  holy  religion '  shall  profit 
by  their  lies,  the  matter  does  become  of  some  impor 
tance,  and  I  am  glad  that  Mr. has  taken  hold 

of  this  subject  with  that  zeal  and  earnestness  which 
usually  characterize  his  great  ability,  and  from  what 
I  know  in  this  matter  I  can  assure  all  whom  it  may 
concern  that  by  the  time  he  is  through  with  the  sub 
ject  it  will  be  deemed  settled  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was 
not  a  hypocrite,  neither  was  he  a  believer  in  the 
monstrous  and  superstitious  doctrines  of  the  Chris 
tian  church." 

The  foregoing  evidence,  with  the  exception  of*  a 
portion  of  Mr.  Magie's  testimony,  was  all  given  to 
the  writer  by  the  witnesses  themselves,  either  by 
letter  or  orally,  and  he  hereby  certifies  to  its  faith 
ful  transcription.  This  evidence  is  from  men  whose 
characters  as  witnesses  cannot  be  impeached,  and  it 
is  hardly  possible  that  one  of  them  will  ever  favor 
the  other  side  with  a  disclaimer. 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  I 
COL.  F.  S.    RUTHERFORD. 

I  wish  now  to  record  a  statement  from  Colonel 
Rutherford,  a  well-known  citizen  and  soldier  of 
Illinois.  It  was  not  made  to  the  writer,  but  was 
made  during  the  war  to  Mr.  W.  W.  Fraser,  a  member 
of  his  regiment,  and  a  man  of  unquestionable 
veracity.  I  will  let  Mr.  Eraser  present  it,  together 
with  the  circumstances  which  called  it  out.  I  quoi,e 
from  a  letter  dated  Ottawa,  Kan.,  Dec.  16,  1881 : 

"  During  the  siege  of  Yicksburg  our  colonel,  F.  S. 
Rutherford,  Colonel  of  the  97th  111.  Vol.  Inft,  vris 
about  to  leave  us,  and  I  went  to  see  him  about  tak 
ing  a  small  package  to  Alton — his  home  and  mine. 
He  had  been  sick  and  quite  unable  to  do  active  ser 
vice.  During  our  conversation  I  said  that  many  of 
the  Alton  boys  did  not  like  to  be  left  under  the  com 
mand  of  -  — .  Colonel  Rutherford  then  said  : 
'  If  my  life  is  worth  anything  I  owe  it  as  much  to  my 
family  as  my  country,  and  it  will  be  worthless  to 
either  if  I  stay  much  longer  in  camp,  but  I  hate  to 
leave  the  boys.'  Colonel  Rutherford  said  that  lie 
had  stumped  his  district  for  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  had 
expected,  from  Mr.  Lincoln's  promises,  something 
better  than  a  colonelcy.  I  told  Colonel  Rutherford 
that  I  was  sorry  to  hear  that,  as  I  had  always  thought 
so  well  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  Mr.  Rutherford  then  said  : 
*  What  more  could  you  expect  of  an  Infidel  ?'  I  said  : 
'  Why,  Colonel,  doesn't  Lincoln  believe  in  a  God '?' 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  225 

He  replied  :  '  Well,  he  may  believe  in  God,  but  he 
doesn't  believe  in  the  Bible  nor  Christ.  I  know  it, 
for  I  have  heard  him  make  fun  of  them  and  say  that 
Christ  was  a  bastard  if  Joseph  was  not  his  father, 
and  I  have  some  sheets  of  paper  now  at  home  that 
he  wrote,  making  fun  of  the  Bible." 

JUDGE  ROBERT  LEACH  MAN. 

The  venerable  Southern  jurist,  Judge  Leachman, 
was  one  of  Lincoln's  intimate  and  valued  friends. 
He  is  a  Christian,  but  candidly  confesses  that  Lin 
coln  was  not  a  believer.  In  the  autumn  of  1889,  at 
Anniston,  Ala.,  Judge  Leachman  made  the  following 
statement  to  Mr.  W.  S.  Andres,  of  Portsmouth,  O. : 

"  Lincoln  was  not  such  a  Christian  as  the  term  is 
used  to  imply  by  church  members  and  church-going 
people.  He  was  in  the  strictest  sense  a  moralist. 
~~He  looked  to  actions  and  not  to  belief.  He  greatly 
admired  the  Golden  Kule,  and  was  one  of  those  who 
thought  that  *  One  world  at  a  time  '  was  a  good 
idea.  .  .  .  He  thought  this  a  good  place  to  be 
happy  as  is  shown  by  his  wonderful  love  for  liberty 
and  mercy.  No,  I  can  truthfully  say,  Abraham  Lin 
coln  was  not  a  Christian.'* 

HON.   ORIN  B.  GOULD. 

Another  friend  and  admirer  of  Lincoln  was  Orin 
B.  Gould,  of  Franklin  Furnace,  O.  Mr.  Gould  was 

' 


226  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN: 

one  of  the  noted  men  of  Southern  Ohio.  He  was  i 
man  of  sterling  worth  and  extensive  knowledge,  and 
was  familiarly  known  as  the  "Sage  of  the  Furnace.  ' 
He  became  acquainted  with  Lincoln  in  Illinois  at  an 
early  day,  and  a  close  friendship  existed  between 
them  while  Lincoln  lived.  Mr.  Gould  survived  hi:* 
illustrious  friend  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  dying 
recently  at  his  beautiful  home  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio.  Previous  to  his  death  the  question  of  Lin 
coln's  religion  was  presented  to  him  and  his  own 
views  on  the  subject  solicited.  His  response  was  as 
follows  : 

"  He,  like  myself,  recognized  no  monsters  for  Gods. 
He,  like  myself,  discarded  the  divinity  of  Christ,  and 
the  idea  of  a  hell's  fire.  He,  like  myself,  admired 
Christ  as  a  man,  and  believed  the  devil  and  evil  to 
be  simply  'truth  misunderstood.'  He,  like  myself, 
thought  good  wherever  found  should  be  accepted 
and  the  bad  rejected." 

M.  S.  GOWIN. 

Mr.  Gowin,  an  old  and  prominent  citizen,  and  a 
Justice  of  the  Peace,  of  McCune,  Kan.,  in  a  recent 
article,  has  this  to  say  regarding  Lincoln : 

"I  lived  near  Springfield,  111.,  from  the  time  that 
I  was  a  child,  and  at  the  time  Lincoln  came  before 
the  people,  and  during  the  time  he  was  President, 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  227 

his  enemies   called  him  an  Infidel,  and  his  friends 
did  not  deny  it." 

COL.   ROBERT  G.   INGERSQLL. 

On  the  eighty-fourth  anniversary  of  Lincoln's 
birth,  Col.  Ingersoll  delivered  in  New  York  his 
masterly  oration  on  Abraham  Lincoln.  In  this 
oration  he  affirmed  that  the  religion  of  Lincoln 
was  the  religion  of  Yoltaire  and  Paine.  Immediately 
after  its  delivery  Gen.  Collis,  of  New  York,  ad 
dressed  the  following  note  to  Col.  Ingersoll : 

"Dear  Col.  Ingersoll :  I  have  just  returned  home 
from  listening  to  your  most  entertaining  lecture  upon 
the  life  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  I  thank  you  sincerely 
for  all  that  was  good  in  it,  and  that  entitles  me  to  be 
frank  in  condemning  what  I  consider  was  bad.  You 
say  that  Lincoln's  religion  was  the  religion  of  Yol 
taire  and  Tom  Paine.  I  know  not  where  you  get 
your  authority  for  this,  but  if  the  statement  be  true 
Lincoln  himself  was  untrue,  for  no  man  invoked  '  the 
gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God  '  in  every  effort  of 
his  life  with  more  apparent  fervor  than  did  he,  and 
this  God  was  not  the  Deists'  God  but  the  God  whom 
he  worshiped  under  the  forms  of  the  Christian 
Church,  of  which  he  was  a  member. 

'•  I  do  not  write  this  in  defense  of  his  religion  or  as 
objecting  to  yours,  but  I  think  it  were  better  for  the 


228  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

truth  of  history  that  you  should  blame  him  for  what 
he  was  than  commend  him  for  what  he  was  not. 
"  Sincerely  yours, 

"  Charles  H.  T.  Collis." 

In  answer  to  the  above  Col.  Ingersoll  penned  the 
following  reply : 
"  Gen.  Charles  H.  T.  Collis, 
"  My  dear  sir  : 

"  I  have  just  received  your  letter  in  which  you 
criticise  a  statement  made  by  me  to  the  effect  that 
Lincoln's  religion  was  the  religion  of  Voltaire  and 
Thomas  Paine,  and  you  add,  '  I  know  not  where  you 
get  your  authority  for  this,  but  if  the  statement  be 
true  Lincoln  himself  was  untrue,  for  no  man  ever  in 
voked  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God  in  qvery 
effort  of  his  life  with  more  apparent  fervor  than  did 
he.' 

"  You  seem  to  be  laboring  under  the  impression 
that  Yoltaire  was  not  a  believer  in  God,  and  that  he 
could  not  have  invoked  the  gracious  favor  of 
Almighty  God.  The  truth  is  that  Yoltaire  was  not 
only  a  believer  in  God,  but  even  in  special  Provi 
dence.  I  know  that  the  clergy  have  always  de 
nounced  Voltaire  as  an  Atheist,  but  this  can  be 
accounted  for  in  two  ways  :  (1)  B}T  the  ignorance  of 
the  clergy,  and  (2)  by  their  contempt  of  truth. 
Thomas  Paine  was  also  a  believer  in  God,  and  wrote 
his  creed  as  follows  :  '  I  believe  in  one  God  and  no 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  229 

more,  and  hope  for  immortality.'  The  ministers 
have  also  denounced  Paine  as  an  Atheist. 

"  You  will,  therefore,  see  that  your  first  statement 
is  without  the  slightest  foundation  in  fact.  Lincoln 
could  be  perfectly  true  to  himself  if  he  agreed  with 
the  religious  sentiments  of  Voltaire  and  Paine,  and 
yet  invoke  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God. 

"  You  also  say,  '  This  God '  (meaning  the  God 
whose  favor  Lincoln  invoked)  '  was  not  the  Deists' 
God.'  The  Deists  believe  in  an  Infinite  Being,  who 
created  and  preserves  the  universe.  The  Christians 
believe  no  more.  Deists  and  Christians  believe  in 
the  same  God,  but  they  differ  as  to  what  this  God 
has  done,  and  to  what  this  God  will  do.  You  fur 
ther  say  that  *  Lincoln  worshiped  his  God  under  the 
forms  of  the  Christian  Church,  of  which  he  was  a 
member.'  Again  you  are  mistaken.  Lincoln  was 
never  a  member  of  any  church.  Mrs.  Lincoln  stated 
a  few  years  ago  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  a  Chris 
tian.  Hundreds  of  his  acquaintances  have  said  the 
same  thing.  Not  only  so,  but  many  of  them  have 
testified  that  he  was  a  Freethinker  ;  that  he  denied 
the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  and  that  he  always 
insisted  that  Christ  was  not  the  son  of  God,  and  that 
the  dogma  of  the  atonement  was  and  is  an  absurd- 
ity. 

"  I  will  very  gladly  pay  you  one  thousand  dollars 
for  your  trouble  to  show  that  one  statement  in 


230  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  ! 

your  letter  is  correct — even  one.  And  now,  to  quote 
you,  '  Do  you  not  think  it  were  better  for  the  trutl 
of  history  that  you  should  state  the  facts  aboul 
Lincoln,  and  that  you  should  commend  him  for  whal 
he  was  rather  than  for  what  he  was  not  ?' 

"  Yours  truly, 

"K.  G.  Ingersoll." 

LEONARD  W.   VQLK. 

In  the  spring  of  1860,  just  before  Lincoln  was 
nominated  for  the  Presidency,  the  celebrated  sculp 
tor,  Volk,  made  a  bust  of  him.  He  spent  a  week  in 
Chicago  and  made  daily  sittings  in  the  artist's 
studio.  Mr.  Yolk  relates  the  following  incident, 
which  hardly  accords  with  the  tales  told  about  Lin 
coln's  reverence  for  the  Sabbath,  and  his  love  for 
church  services  : 

"  He  entered  my  studio  on  Sunday  morning,  re 
marking  that  a  friend  at  the  hotel  had  invited  him 
to  go  to  church.  '  But,'  said  Mr.  Lincoln, '  I  thought 
I'd  rather  come  and  sit  for  the  bust.  The  fact  is,' 
he  continued,  '  I  don't  like  to  hear  cut-and-dried 

JOSEPH    JEFFERSON. 

It  is  difficult  for  orthodox  Christians  to  reconcile 
Lincoln's  fondness  for  the  play  with  his  reputed 
piety.  That  his  last  act  was  a  visit  to  the  theater  is 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  231 

a  fact  that  stands  out  in  ghastly  prominence  to 
them.  To  break  its  force  they  offer  various  explana 
tions.  Some  say  that  he  went  to  avoid  the  office- 
seekers  ;  others  that  Mrs.  Lincoln  compelled  him  to 
go  ;  and  still  others  that  he  was  led  there  by  fate. 
The  truth  is  he  was  a  frequent  attendant  at  the 
theater.  He  went  there  much  oftener  than  he  went 
to  church.  The  visit  of  a  clergyman  annoyed  him, 
but  the  society  of  actors  he  enjoyed.  He  greatly 
admired  the  acting  of  Edwin  Booth.  He  sent  a  note 
to  the  actor  Hackett,  praising  him  for  his  fine  pres 
entation  of  Falstaff.  He  called  John  McCulloch  to 
his  box  one  night  and  congratulated  him  on  his  suc 
cessful  rendition  of  the  part  he  was  playing. 

In  his  autobiography,  which  recently  appeared  in 
the  Century  Magazine,  Joseph  Jefferson  gives  some 
interesting  reminiscences  of  Lincoln.  In  the  earlier 
part  of  his  dramatic  career  he  was  connected  with 
a  theatrical  company,  the  managers  of  which,  one  of 
whom  was  his  father,  built  a  theater  in  Springfield, 
111.  A  conflict  between  the  preachers  and  players 
ensued.  The  church  was  powerful  then,  and  the 
city  joined  with  the  church  to  suppress  the  theater. 
The  history  of  the  struggle  and  its  termination,  as 
narrated  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  is  as  follows : 

"In  the  midst  of  their  rising  fortunes  a  heavy 
blow  fell  upon  them.  A  religious  revival  was  in 
progress  at  the  time,  and  the  fathers  of  the  church 


232  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

not  only  launched  forth  against  us  in  their  sermons, 
but  by  some  political  maneuver  got  the  city  to  pass 
a  new  law  enjoining  a  heavy  license  against  our 
'unholy'  calling;  I  forget  the  amount,  but  it  was 
large  enough  to  be  prohibitory.  Here  was  a  terrible 
condition  of  affairs — all  our  available  funds  invested, 
the  Legislature  in  session,  the  town  full  of  people, 
and  by  a  heavy  license  denied  the  privilege  of  oper- 
ing  the  new  theater  ! 

"In  the  midst  of  their  trouble  a  young  lawyer 
called  on  the  managers.  He  had  heard  of  the  in 
justice,  and  offered,  if  they  would  place  the  matter 
in  his  hands,  to  have  the  license  taken  off,  declaring 
that  he  only  desired  to  see  fair  play,  and  he  would 
accept  no  fee  whether  he  failed  or  succeeded.  Th^, 
case  was  brought  up  before  the  council.  The  young 
man  began  his  harangue.  He  handled  the  subject 
with  tact,  skill,  and  humor,  tracing  the  history  of 
the  drama  from  the  time  when  Thespis  acted  in  a 
cart  to  the  stage  of  to-day.  He  illustrated  his 
speech  with  a  number  of  anecdotes,  and  kept  tho 
council  in  a  roar  of  laughter ;  his  good  humor  pre 
vailed,  and  the  exorbitant  tax  was  taken  off. 

"  This  young  lawyer  was  very  popular  in  Spring 
field,  and  was  honored  and  beloved  by  all  who  knew 
him,  and,  after  the  time  of  which  I  write,  he  held 
rather  an  important  position  in  the  Government  of 
the  "United  States.  He  now  lies  buried  near  Spring- 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  '233 

field,  under  a  monument  commemorating  his  great 
ness  and  his  virtues — and  his  name  was  Abraham 
Lincoln." 

HON.  ELIHU  B.   WASHBUKN. 

The  ball-room,  too,  had  its  attractions  for  him. 
Some  years  ago  Hon.  E.  B.  Washburn  contributed 
to  the  North  American  Review  a  lengthy  article  on 
Lincoln.  "When  President  Taylor  was  inaugurated, 
Lincoln  was  serving  his  term  in  Congress.  Alluding 
to  the  inaugural  ball,  Mr.  Washburn  says  : 

"A  small  number  of  mutual  friends  including 
Mr.  Lincoln — made  up  a  party  to  attend  the  inau 
guration  ball  together.  It  was  by  far  the  most 
brilliant  inauguration  ball  ever  given.  .  .  .  We 
did  not  take  our  departure  until  three  or  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning  "  (Reminiscences  of  Lincoln, 
p.  19). 

HON.  ELIJAH  M.  HA/ftES. 

In  February,  1859,  Governor  Bissell  gave  a  recep 
tion  in  Springfield  which  Lincoln  attended.  Hon. 
E.  M.  Haines,  then  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and 
one  of  Lincoln's  supporters  for  the  Senate,  referring 
to  the  affair,  says  : 

"  Dancing  was  going  on  in  the  adjacent  rooms,  and 
Mr.  Lincoln  invited  my  wife  to  join  him  in  the 
dancing,  which  she  did,  and  he  apparently  took 


234  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

much  pleasure  in  the  recreation  "  (Every-Day  Life 
of  Lincoln,  p.  308). 

Early  in  January,  1863,  President  and  Mrs.  Lin 
coln  gave  a  reception  and  ball  at  the  White  House. 
This  was  a  severe  shock  to  the  Christians  of  the 
country,  and  provoked  a  storm  of  censure  from  the 
religious  press. 

According  to  Ninian  Edwards,  Lincoln  is  con 
verted  to  Christianity  about  1848.  In  March,  1849, 
he  attends  the  inauguration  ball  and  "Won't  go  home 
till  morning."  According  to  Dr.  Smith,  he  is  con 
verted  in  1858.  In  February,  1859,  he  attends  and 
participates  in  a  ball  at  Springfield.  According  to 
Noah  Brooks,  he  is  converted  in  1862.  In  January, 
1863,  he  gives  a  ball  himself.  In  every  instance  he 
retires  from  the  altar  only  to  enter  the  ball-room. 


WAS  HE  A   CHRISTIAN?  235 


CHAPTEK  XII. 

TESTIMONY  OF  FRIENDS  AND  ACQUAINTANCES   OF  LINCOLN 
WHO   KNEW   HIM   IN  WASHINGTON. 

Hon.  Geo.  W.  Julian — Hon.  John  B.  Alley— Hon.  Hugh  McCul- 
loch — Bonn  Piatt — Hon.  Schuyler  Colfax — Hon.  Geo.  S.  Boutwell — 
Hon.  Win.  D.  Kelly — E.  H.  Wood — Dr.  J.  J.  Thompson— Rev.  James 
Shrigley — Hon.  John  Covode — Jas.  E.  Murdock — Hon.  M.  B.  Field — 

Harriet   Beecher  Stowe — Hon.  J.   P.    Usher — Hon.    S.    P.    Chase 

Frederick  Douglas — Mr.  Defrees — Hon.  Wm.  H.  Seward— Judge  Aaron 
Goodrich — Nicolay  and  Hay's  "Life  of  Lincoln" — Warren  Chase — 
Hon.  A.  J.  Grover — Judge  James  M.  Nelson. 

THE  evidence  of  more  than  fifty  witnesses  has 
already  been  adduced  to  prove  that  Lincoln  was  not 
a  Christian  in  Illinois.  Those  who  at  first  were  so 
forward  to  claim  that  he  was,  have  generally  recog 
nized  the  futility  of  the  claim.  They  have  aban 
doned  it,  and  content  themselves  with  affirming  that 
he  became  a  Christian  after  he  went  to  Washington. 
These  claimants,  being  for  the  most  part  rigid  sec 
tarians  themselves,  endeavor  to  convince  the  world 
that  he  not  only  became  a  Christian,  but  an  orthodox 
Christian,  and  a  sectarian  ;  that  even  from  a  Calvin- 
istic  standpoint,  he  was  "  sound  not  only  on  the 
truth  of  the  Christian  religion  but  on  all  its  funda 
mental  doctrines  and  teachings."  The  testimony  of 


236  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  I 

Colonel  Lanion,  Judge  Davis,  Mrs.  Lincoln,  and 
Colonel  Nicolay,  not  only  refutes  this  claim,  but 
shows  that  he  was  not  in  any  just  sense  of  the  torm 
a  Christian  when  he  died.  In  addition  to  this  3vi- 
dence,  I  will  now  present  the  testimony  of  a  scora  of 
other  witnesses  who  knew  him  in  Washington. 
These  witnesses  do  not  all  affirm  that  he  was  a  total 
disbeliever  in  Christianity  ;  but  a  part  of  them  do, 
while  the  testimony  of  the  remainder  is  to  the  ef'ect 
that  he  was  not  orthodox  as  claimed. 

HON.   GEORGE  W.  JULIAN. 

Our  first  witness  is  George  W.  Julian,  of  Indiana. 
Mr.  Julian  was  for  many  years  a  leader  in  Congress, 
was  the  Anti-Slavery  candidate  for  Vice-President, 
in  1852,  and  one  of  the  founders  of  the  party  that 
elected  Lincoln  to  the  Presidency.  He  was  one  of 
Lincoln's  warmest  personal  friends  and  intimately 
acquainted  with  him  at  Washington.  Writing  to  me 
from  Santa  Fe,  N.  M.,  under  date  of  March  13,  1888, 
Mr.  Julian  says  : 

"I  knew  him  [Lincoln]  well,  and  I  know  that  he 
was  not  a  Christian  in  any  old-fashioned  orthodox 
sense  of  the  word,  but  only  a  religious  Theist.  He 
was,  substantially,  such  a  Christian  as  Jefferson, 
Franklin,  Washington,  and  John  Adams ;  and  it  is 
perfectly  idle  to  assert  the  contrary." 


WAS   HE  A  CHRISTIAN?  237 

HON.   JOHN  B.  ALLEY. 

In  1886,  the  publishers  of  the  North  American 
Review  issued  one  of  the  most  unique,  original,  and 
interesting  works  on  Lincoln  that  has  yet  appeared 
— "  Reminiscences  of  Abraham  Lincoln."  It  was 
edited  by  Allen  Thorndike  Rice,  and  comprises,  in 
addition  to  a  biographical  sketch  of  Lincoln's  life  by 
the  editor,  thirty-three  articles  on  Lincoln  written 
by  as  many  distinguished  men  of  his  day.  One  of 
the  best  articles  in  this  volume  is  from  the  pen  of 
one  of  Boston's  merchant  princes.  John  B.  Alley. 
Mr.  Alley  was  for  eight  years  a  member  of  Cougress 
from  Massachusetts,  serving  in  this  capacity  during 
all  the  years  that  Lincoln  was  President.  To  his 
ability  and  integrity  as  a  statesman  this  remarkable 
yet  truthful  tribute  has  been  paid  :  "  No  bill  he 
ever  reported  and  no  measure  he  ever  advocated 
during  his  long  term  of  service  failed  to  receive  the 
approbation  of  the  House."  Lincoln  recognized  his 
many  sterling  qualities,  and  throughout  the  war  his 
relations  with  the  President  were  of  the  most 
intimate  character.  Mr.  Alley  is  one  of  the  many 
who  know  that  Lincoln  was  not  a  Christian,  and  one 
of  the  few  who  have  the  courage  to  affirm  it.  He 
says : 

"  In  his  religious  views  Mr.  Lincoln  was  very  nearly 
what  we  would  call  a  Freethinker.  While  he  re 
flected  a  great  deal  upon  religious  subjects  he  com- 


238  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  I 

municated  his  thoughts  to  a  very  few.  He  had  little 
faith  in  the  popular  religion  of  the  times.  He  h;id  a 
broad  conception  of  the  goodness  and  power  ol  an 
overruling  Providence,  and  said  to  me  one  day  lhat 
he  felt  sure  the  Author  of  our  being,  whether  cabled 
God  or  Nature,  it  mattered  little  which,  would  deal 
very  mercifully  with  poor  erring  humanity  in  the 
other,  and  he  hoped  better,  world.  He  was  as  free 
as  possible  from  all  sectarian  thought,  feeling,  or 
sentiment.  No  man  was  more  tolerant  of  the  opin 
ions  and  feelings  of  others  in  the  direction  of  relig 
ious  sentiment  or  had  less  faith  in  religious  dogmas  " 
(Eeminiscences  of  Lincoln,  pp.  590,  591). 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  Alley  says  : 

"  While  Mr.  Lincoln  was  perfectly  honest  and  up 
right  and  led  a  blameless  life,  he  was  in  no  sense 
what  might  be  considered  a  religious  man  "  (Ibid). 

HON.  HUGH   McCULLOCH. 

Hon.  Hugh  McCulloch,  a  member  of  Lincoln's 
Cabinet,  his  last  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  writes  : 

"  Grave  and  sedate  in  manner,  he  was  full  of  kind 
and  gentle  emotion.  He  was  fond  of  poetry. 
Shakspere  was  his  delight.  Few  men  could  read 
with  equal  expression  the  plays  of  the  great  dra 
matist.  The  theater  had  great  attractions  for  him, 
but  it  was  comedy,  not  tragedy,  he  went  to  hear. 
He  had  great  enjoyment  of  the  plays  that  made  him 


WAS   HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  239 

laugh,  no  matter  how  absurd  and  grotesque,  and  he 
gave  expression  to  his  enjoyment  by  hearty  and 
noisy  applause.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  religious 
convictions,  but  he  cared  nothing  for  the  dogmas  of 
the  churches  and  had  little  respect  for  their  creeds  " 
(Reminiscences  of  Lincoln,  pp.  412,  413). 

DONN  PI  ATT. 

The  distinguished  lawyer,  soldier  and  journalist, 
Donn  Piatt,  who  knew  Lincoln  in  Illinois  and  who 
met  him  often  in  Washington,  writes  : 

"  I  soon  discovered  that  this  strange  and  strangely 
gifted  man,  while  not  at  all  cynical,  was  a  skeptic. 
His  view  of  human  nature  was  low,  but  good- 
natured.  I  could  not  call  it  suspicious,  but  he  be 
lieved  only  what  he  saw  "  (Eeminiscences  of  Lincoln, 
p.  480). 

Those  who  are  disposed  to  believe  that  Lincoln's 
Christian  biographers  have  observed  an  inflexible 
adherence  to  truth  in  their  statements  concerning 
his  religious  belief  would  do  well  to  ponder  the 
following  words  of  Mr.  Piatt : 

"  History  is,  after  all,  the  crystallization  of  popular 
beliefs.  As  a  pleasant  fiction  is  more  acceptable 
than  a  naked  fact,  and  as  the  historian  shapes  his 
wares,  like  any  other  dealer,  to  suit  his  customers, 
one  can  readily  see  that  our  chronicles  are  only  a 
duller  sort  of  fiction  than  the  popular  novels  so 


240  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

eagerly  read ;  not  that  they  are  true,  but  that  they 
deal  in  what  we  long  to  have — the  truth.  Popular 
beliefs,  in  time,  come  to  be  superstitions,  and  create 
gods  and  devils.  Thus  Washington  is  deified  i  ito 
an  impossible  man,  and  Aaron  Burr  has  passed  i.-ito 
a  like  impossible  monster.  Through  the  same  proc 
ess  Abraham  Lincoln,  one  of  our  truly  great,  lias 
almost  gone  from  human  knowledge "  (Ibid,  p. 
478). 

HON.    SCHUYLER  COLFAX. 

Previous  to  the  war  no  class  of  persons  wore 
louder  in  their  denunciation  of  Abolitionism  tl  an 
the  clergy  of  the  North.  When  at  last  it  became 
evident  that  the  institution  of  slavery  was  doomed, 
in  their  eagerness  to  be  found  on  the  popular  side, 
they  were  equally  loud  in  their  demands  for  its 
immediate  extirpation.  In  September,  1862,  a  depu 
tation  of  Chicago  clergymen  waited  upon  the  Presi 
dent  for  the  purpose  of  urging  him  to  proclaim  the 
freedom  of  the  slave.  Notwithstanding  he  had 
matured  his  plans  and  was  ready  to  issue  his 
Proclamation,  he  gave  them  no  intimation  of  his  in 
tention.  In  connection  with  their  visit,  Colfax 
relates  the  following  : 

"  One  of  these  ministers  felt  it  his  duty  to  make  a 
more  searching  appeal  to  the  President's  conscience. 
Just  as  they  were  retiring,  he  turned,  and  said  to 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  241 

Mr.  Lincoln,  '  What  you  have  said  to  us,  Mr.  Presi 
dent,  compels  me  to  say  to  you  in  reply,  that  it  is  a 
message  to  you  from  our  Divine  Master,  through  me, 
commanding  you,  sir,  to  open  the  doors  of  bondage 
that  the  slave  may  go  free  ! '  Mr.  Lincoln  replied, 
instantly,  *  That  may  be,  sir,  for  I  have  studied  this 
question,  by  night  and  by  day,  for  weeks  and  for 
months,  but  if  it  is,  as  you  say,  a  message  from  your 
Divine  Master,  is  it  not  odd  that  the  only  channel 
he  could  send  it  by  was  that  roundabout  route  by 
that  awfully  wicked  city  of  Chicago?"  (Keminis- 
cences  of  Lincoln,  pp.  334,  335). 

In  a  lecture  delivered  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  in  1886, 
Mr.  Colfax  stated  that  Lincoln  was  not  a  Christian, 
in  the  evangelical  sense.  To  a  gentleman  who 
visited  him  at  his  home  in  South  Bend,  Ind.,  he 
declared  that  Lincoln  was  not  a  believer  in  orthodox 
Christianity.  Again  at  Atchison,  Kan.,  he  informed 
Mr.  Perkins  that  Lincoln  had  never  been  converted 
to  Christianity,  as  claimed. 

HON.   WILLIAM  D.  KELLEY. 

William  D.  Kelley,  for  thirty  years  a  member  of 
Congress  from  Pennsylvania,  relates  an  incident 
similar  to  the  one  related  by  Mr.  Colfax.  A 
"  Quaker  preacher "  called  at  the  White  House  to 
urge  the  President  to  proclaim  at  once  the  freedom 


242  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

of  the  slave.     To  illustrate  her  argument  and  empha 
size  her  plea,  she  cited  the  history  of  Deborah. 

"  Having  elaborated  this  Biblical  example,"  s.iys 
Mr.  Kelley,  "the  speaker  assumed  that  the  President 
was,  as  Deborah  had  been,  the  appointed  minister  of 
the  Lord,  and  proceeded  to  tell  him  that  it  was  his 
duty  to  follow  the  example  of  Deborah,  and  forth 
with  abolish  slavery,  and  establish  freedom  through 
out  the  land,  as  the  Lord  had  appointed  him  to  do. 

"  '  Has  the  Friend  finished  ?'  said  the  President,  as 
she  ceased  to  speak.  Having  received  an  affirmat  ve 
answer,  he  said  :  '  I  have  neither  time  nor  disposi 
tion  to  enter  into  discussion  with  the  Friend,  and 
end  this  occasion  by  suggesting  for  her  consideration 
the  question  whether,  if  it  be  true  that  the  Lord  Las 
appointed  me  to  do  the  work  she  has  indicated,  it  is 
not  probable  that  he  would  have  communicated 
knowledge  of  the  fact  to  me  as  well  as  to  her ' ' 
(Reminiscences  of  Lincoln,  pp.  284,  285). 

HON.  GEORGE  S.   BOUTWELL. 

A.  great  many  pious  stories  have  been  circulated 
in  regard  to  the  Emancipation  Proclamation.  AVe 
are  told  that  he  made  a  "  solemn  vow  to  God  "  that 
if  Lee  was  defeated  at  Antietam  he  would  issue  the 
Preliminary  Proclamation.  And  yet  this  document 
contains  no  recognition  of  God.  He  even  com 
pleted  the  draft  of  it  on  what  Christians  are  pleased 


WAS    HE   A    CHRISTIAN  ?  243 

to  regard  as  God's  holy  day.  Mr.  Boutwell  states 
that  Lincoln  once  related  to  him  the  circumstances 
attending  the  promulgation  of  the  instrument.  He 
quotes  the  following  as  Lincoln's  words  : 

"  The  truth  is  just  this  :  When  Lee  came  over 
the  river,  I  made  a  resolution  that  if  McClellan  drove 
him  back  I  would  send  the  Proclamation  after  him. 
The  battle  of  Antietam  was  fought  Wednesday,  and 
until  Saturday  I  could  not  find  out  whether  we  had 
gained  a  victory  or  lost  a  battle.  It  was  then  too 
late  to  issue  the  Proclamation  that  day,  and  the  fact 
is  I  fixed  it  up  a  little  Sunday,  and  Monday  I  let  them 
have  it "  (Reminiscences  of  Lincoln,  p.  126). 

E.  H.   WOOD. 

Mr.  E.  H.  Wood,  one  of  Lincoln's  old  Springfield 
neighbors,  who  visited  him  at  Washington  during 
the  war,  made  the  following  statement  to  Mr.  Hern- 
don,  in  October,  1881  : 

"  I  came  from  Auburn,  N.  Y. — knew  Seward 
well — knew  Lincoln  very  well — lived  for  three  years 
just  across  the  alley  from  his  residence.  I  had  many 
conversations  with  him  on  politics  and  religion  as 
late  as  1859  and  '60.  He  was  a  broad  religionist — a 
Liberal.  Lincoln  told  me  Franklin's  story.  Frank 
lin  and  a  particular  friend  made  an  agreement  that 
when  the  first  one  died  he  would  come  back  and  tell 
how  things  went.  Well,  Franklin's  friend  died,  but 


244  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN: 

never  came  back.  *  It  is  a  doubtful  question,'  said 
Lincoln,  '  whether  we  get  anywhere  to  get  ba<;k.' 
Lincoln  said,  '  There  is  no  hell.'  He  did  not  say 
much  about  heaven.  I  met  him  in  Washington  and 
saw  no  change  in  him." 

I  have  given  the  testimony  of  two  of  Lincoln's 
nearest  neighbors  in  Springfield,  Isaac  Hawley  and 
E.  H.  Wood.  Mr.  Hawley  believes  that  Lincoln  v/as 
a  Christian  ;  Mr.  Wood  knows  that  he  was  not.  Mr. 
Hawley  never  heard  Lincoln  utter  a  word  to 
support  his  belief;  Mr.  Wood  obtained  his  knowledge 
from  Lincoln  himself.  Mr.  Hawley's  belief  is  of 
little  value  compared  with  Mr.  Wood's  knowledge. 
Mr.  Hawley  never  heard  Lincoln  defend  Christianity 
and  probably  never  heard  him  oppose  it.  Lincoln 
knew  that  Mr.  Hawley  was  a  Christian — that  he  had 
no  sympathy  with  his  Freethought  views.  He  did 
not  desire  to  offend  or  antagonize  him,  and  hence 
he  refrained  from  introducing  a  subject  that  he  know 
was  distasteful  to  him.  Mr.  Wood,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  a  man  of  broad  and  Liberal  ideas,  and 
Lincoln  did  not  hesitate  to  express  to  him  his  views 
with  freedom. 

J.  J.    THOMPSON,  M,D. 

Dr.  J.  J.  Thompson,  an  old  resident  of  Illinois, 
now  in  Colorado,  in  a  letter,  dated  March  18,  1888, 
writes  as  follows  : 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  245 

"  I  knew  Abraham  Lincoln  from  my  boyhood  up 
to  the  time  of  his  death.  I  was  in  his  law  office 
many  times  and  met  him  several  times  in  Washing 
ton.  He  was  a  Liberal,  outspoken,  and  seemed  to 
feel  proud  of  it." 

"  This  great  and  good  man,"  concludes  Dr. 
Thompson,  "  claimed  Humanity  as  his  religion." 

REV.    JAMES   SHRIGLEY. 

Kev.  Jas.  Shrigley,  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  ac 
quainted  with  President  Lincoln  in  Washington,  and 
who  received  a  hospital  chaplaincy  from  him,  says  : 

"  President  Lincoln  was  also  remarkably  tolerant. 
He  was  the  friend  of  all,  and  never,  to  my  knowl 
edge,  gave  the  influence  of  his  great  name  to 
encourage  sectarianism  in  any  of  its  names  and 
forms  "  (Lincoln  Memorial  Album,  p.  335). 

HON.  JOHN  COVODE. 

In  connection  with  Mr.  Shrigley's  appointment, 
the  following  anecdote  is  related.  Mr.  Shrigley  was 
not  orthodox,  and  when  it  became  known  that  his 
name  had  been  sent  to  the  Senate,  a  Committee  of 
"Young  Christians"  waited  upon  the  President  for 
the  purpose  of  inducing  him  to  withdraw  the  nomi 
nation.  Hon.  John  Covode,  of  Pennsylvania,  was 
present  during  the  interview  and  gave  it  to  the 
press.  It  is  as  follows : 


246  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

"  'We  have  called,  Mr.  President,  to  confer  with 
you  in  regard  to  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Shrigley, 
of  Philadelphia,  as  hospital  chaplain.' 

"  The  President  responded  :  '  Oh,  yes,  gentlemen  ; 
I  have  sent  his  name  to  the  Senate,  and  he  will  np 
doubt  be  confirmed  at  an  early  day.' 

"  One  of  the  young  men  replied:  'We  have  not 
come  to  ask  for  the  appointment,  but  to  solicit  you 
to  withdraw  the  nomination.' 

"  '  Ah,'  said  Lincoln,  '  that  alters  the  case  ;  but  oil 
what  ground  do  you  ask  the  nomination  with 
drawn  ?' 

"  The  answer  was,  '  Mr.  Shrigley  is  not  sound  in 
his  theological  opinions.' 

"  The  President  inquired  :  '  On  what  question  is 
the  gentleman  unsound?' 

"  Response  :  '  He  does  not  believe  in  endless 
punishment  ;  not  only  so,  sir,  but  he  believes  that 
even  the  rebels  themselves  will  finally  be  saved.' 

"  '  Is  that  so  ?'  inquired  the  President. 

"  The  members  of  the  committee  both  responded, 
'Yes,'  'Yes.' 

"  '  Well,  gentlemen,  if  that  be  so,  and  there  is  any 
way  under  heaven  whereby  the  rebels  can  be  saved, 
then,  for  God's  sake  and  their  sakes,  let  the  man  be 
appointed  ' "  (L.  M.  A.,  pp.  336,  337). 

And  he  was  appointed. 


WAS   HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  247 

JAMES  F.  MURDOCH. 

It  is  claimed  that  few  public  men  have  made 
greater  use  of  the  Bible  than  Lincoln.  This  is  true. 
He  was  continually  quoting  Scripture  or  alluding  to 
Scriptural  scenes  and  stories,  sometimes  to  illustrate 
or  adorn  a  serious  speech,  but  more  frequently  to 
point  or  emphasize  a  joke.  The  venerable  actor  and 
elocutionist,  James  E.  Murdoch,  who  had  met  Lin 
coln,  both  in  Springfield  and  Washington,  relates  an 
anecdote  of  him  while  at  Washington  which  serves 
to  illustrate  this  propensity  : 

"  One  day  a  detachment  of  troops  was  marching 
along  the  avenue  singing  the  soul-stirring  strain  of 
*  John  Brown.'  They  were  walled  in  on  either  side 
by  throngs  of  citizens  and  strangers,  whose  voices 
mingled  in  the  roll  of  the  mighty  war-song.  In  the 
midst  of  this  exciting  scene,  a  man  had  clambered 
into  a  small  tree,  on  the  sidewalk,  where  he  clung, 
unmindful  of  the  jeers  of  the  passing  crowd,  called 
forth  by  the  strange  antics  he  was  unconsciously  ex 
hibiting  in  his  efforts  to  overcome  the  swaying 
motion  of  the  slight  stem  which  bent  beneath  his 
weight.  Mr.  Lincoln's  attention  was  attracted  for  a 
moment,  and  he  paused  in  the  serious  conversation 
in  which  he  was  deeply  interested  and  in  an  ab 
stracted  manner,  yet  with  a  droll  cast  of  the  eye,  and 
a  nod  of  the  head  in  the  direction  of  the  man,  he  re- 


248  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN: 

peated,  in  his  dry  and  peculiar  utterance,  the  fol 
lowing  old-fashioned  couplet : 

1  And  Zaccheous  he  did  climb  a  tree, 
His  Lord  and  Master  for  to  see.'  " 

(L.  M.  A.,  pp.  349,  350). 

Mr.  Murdoch  states  that  in  connection  with  this 
incident  Lincoln  was  charged  "  with  turning  sacred 
subjects  into  ridicule."  He  apologizes  for,  and 
attempts  to  palliate  this  levity,  and  affects  to  believ  3 
that  Lincoln  was  a  Christian.  But  almost  daily 
Lincoln  indulged  in  jokes  at  the  expense  of  the  Biblo 
and  Christianity,  many  of  them  ten-fold  more  sacri 
legious  in  their  character  than  this  trifling  incident  re 
lated  by  Mr.  Murdoch.  If  the  scrupulously  pious 
considered  this  simple  jest,  uttered  in  the  midst  of  a 
mixed  crowd,  irreverent,  what  would  have  been 
their  horror  could  they  have  listened  to  some  of  his 
remarks  made  when  alone  with  a  skeptical  boon 
companion  ?  With  Christians  and  with  strangers 
he  was  generally  guarded  in  his  speech,  lest  he 
should  give  offense  ;  but  with  his  unbelieving  friends, 
up  to  the  end  of  his  career,  his  keenest  shafts  of 
wit  were  not  infrequently  aimed  at  the  religion  of 
his  day.  This  shows  that  the  popular  faith  had  no 
more  sacredness  for  Lincoln,  the  President,  in 
Washington,  than  it  had  for  Lincoln,  the  farmer's 
boy,  who  mocked  and  mimicked  it  in  Indiana,  or 


WAS   HE  A   CHRISTIAN?  249 

Lincoln,  the  lawyer,  who  scoffed  at  it  and  argued 
against  it  in  Illinois. 

HON.  MAUNSELL  B.  FIELD. 

Mr.  Field,  who  had  met  nearly  all  the  noted 
characters  of  his  day,  both  of  Europe  and  America, 
in  his  "  Memories  of  Many  Men,"  has  this  signifi 
cant  sentence  respecting  Lincoln  : 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  was  entirely  deficient  in  what  the 
phrenologists  call  reverence  [veneration]." 

This  made  it  easy  for  him  to  emancipate  himself 
from  the  slavery  of  priestcraft  and  become  and 
remain  a  Freethinker.  Professor  Beall,  one  of  the 
ablest  of  living  phrenological  writers,  says  : 

"  No  man  can  '  enjoy  religion,'  as  the  Methodists 
express  it,  unless  he  has  well  developed  veneration 
and  wonder  "  (The  Brain  and  the  Bible,  p.  109). 

"All  those  who  rebel  against  any  form  of  govern 
ment  which  in  childhood  they  were  taught  to 
revere,  must  of  necessity  do  so  in  opposition  to  the 
faculty  of  veneration.  Thus  it  is  obvious  that  the 
less  one  possesses  of  the  conservative  restraining 
faculties,  the  more  easily  he  becomes  a  rebel  or  an 
Infidel  to  that  which  his  reason  condemns.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  profoundly  conscientious  and  rever 
ential  man,  who  sincerely  regards  unbelief  as  a  sin, 
of  course  instinctively  antagonizes  every  skeptical 
thought,  and  is  thus  likely  to  remain  a  slave  to  the 


250  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  I 

religion  learned  at  his  mother's  knee"  (Ibid,  p. 
228). 

Mr.  Field  also  relates  the  following  anecdote  oi 
Lincoln  : 

"  I  was  once  in  Mr.  Lincoln's  company  when  n 
sectarian  controversy  arose.  He  himself  looked 
very  grave,  and  made  no  observation  until  all  the 
others  had  finished  what  they  had  to  say.  Then 
with  a  twinkle  of  the  eye  he  remarked  that  he  pre 
ferred  the  Episcopalians  to  every  other  sect,  because 
they  are  equally  indifferent  to  a  man's  religion  and 
his  politics." 

HARRIET  B  EEC  HER  STOWE. 

The  noted  author  of  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  "  had 
several  interviews  with  the  President.  She  wrote 
an  article  on  him  which  has  been  cited  in  proof  of 
his  "deeply  religious  nature."  But  if  her  words 
prove  anything,  they  prove  that  he  was  not  an 
evangelical  Christian.  They  are  as  follows  : 

"  But  Almighty  God  has  granted  to  him  that  clear 
ness  of  vision  which  he  gives  to  the  true-hearted,  and 
.enabled  him  to  set  his  honest  foot  in  that  promised 
]  uid  of  freedom  which  is  to  be  the  patrimony  of  all 
men,  black  and  white  ;  and  from  henceforth  nations 
shall  rise  up  and  call  him  blessed.  We  believe  he  has 
never  made  any  religious  profession,  but  we  see  evi 
dence  that  in  passing  through  this  dreadful  national 


WAS    HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  251 

crisis,  he  lias  been  forced  by  the  very  anguish  of  the 
struggle  to  look  upward,  where  any  rational  creature 
must  look  for  support.  No  man  in  this  agony  has 
suffered  more  and  deeper,  albeit  with  a  dry,  weary, 
patient  pain,  that  seemed  to  some  like  insensibility. 
'Whichever  way  it  ends,'  he  said  to  the  writer,  'I 
have  the  impression  that  /shan't  last  long  after  it's 
over '  "  (Every-Day  Life  of  Lincoln,  pp.  575,  576). 

Mrs.  Stowe  was  herself  an  orthodox  Christian 
communicant,  but  her  store  of  good  sense  was  too 
great  to  allow  her  to  inflict  her  religious  notions 
upon  the  unbelieving  President,  and,  as  a  conse 
quence,  she  did  not  see  him  rush  out  of  the  room 
with  a  Bible  under  his  arm  to — I  was  going  to  say 
—pray  God  to  deliver  him  from  an  intolerable 
nuisance. 

That  the  mighty  burden  which  pressed  upon  Lin 
coln  made  him  a  sadder  and  more  serious  man  at 
Washington  than  he  had  been  before  is  true.  Chris 
tians  are  always  mistaking  sadness  for  penitence  and 
seriousness  for  piety,  and  so  they  claim  that  he  ex 
perienced  a  change  of  heart. 

HON.   JOHN  P.    USHER, 

Christians  and  Theists  are  wont  to  speak  of  Lin 
coln's  constant  and  firm  reliance  upon  God.  But  it 
is  a  little  remarkable  that  in  the  preparation  of  his 
greatest  work  he  did  not  rely  upon  God.  In  the 


252  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

supreme  moments  of  his  life  Le  forgot  God.  Dr. 
Barrows  says  : 

"  When  he  wrote  his  immortal  Proclamation,  he 
invoked  upon  it  .  .  .  '  the  gracious  favor  of  Al 
mighty  God.' " 

When  he  wrote  his  immortal  Proclamation  he  had 
no  thought  of  God.  Judge  Usher,  a  member  of  his 
Cabinet,  tells  us  how  God  came  to  be  invoked : 

"  In  the  preparation  of  the  final  Proclamation  of 
Emancipation,  of  January  1,  1863,  Mr.  Lincoln  mani 
fested  great  solicitude.  He  had  his  original  draft 
printed  and  furnished  each  member  of  his  Cabinet 
with  a  copy,  with  the  request  that  each  should  ex 
amine,  criticise,  and  suggest  any  amendments  that 
occurred  to  them.  At  the  next  meeting  of  the  Cabi 
net  Mr.  Chase  said  :  '  This  paper  is  of  the  utmost 
importance — greater  than  any  state  paper  ever  made 
by  this  Government.  A  paper  of  so  much  impor 
tance,  and  involving  the  liberties  of  so  many  people, 
ought,  I  think,  to  make  some  reference  to  Deity.  I 
do  not  observe  anything  of  the  kind  in  it.'  Mr. 
Lincoln  said :  '  No  ;  I  overlooked  it.  Some  refer 
ence  to  Deity  must  be  inserted.  Mr.  Chase,  won't 
you  make  a  draft  of  what  you  think  ought  to  be  in 
serted  ?'  Mr.  Chase  promised  to  do  so,  and  at  the 
next  meeting  presented  the  following  :  '  And  upon 
this  Act,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act  of  justice 
warranted  by  the  Constitution  upon  military  neces- 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  253 

sity,  I  invoke  the  considerate  judgment  of  mankind 
and  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God'"  (Remi 
niscences  of  Lincoln,  pp.  91,  92), 

HON.  SALMON   P.  CHASE. 

In  the  New  York  Tribune  of  Feb.  22d,  1893, 
appeared  an  article  on  "  How  the  Emancipation 
Proclamation  was  made,"  written  by  Mrs.  Janet 
Chase  Hoyt,  daughter  of  Salmon  P.  Chase.  In  this 
article  Mrs.  Hoyt  gives  the  following  extract  from  a 
letter  written  to  her  by  her  father  in  1867  : 

"  Looking  over  old  papers,  I  found  many  of  my 
memoranda,  etc.,  of  the  war,  and  among  them  my 
draft  of  a  proclamation  of  emancipation  sub 
mitted  to  Mr.  Lincoln  the  day  before  his  own  was 
issued.  He  asked  all  of  us  for  suggestions  in 
regard  to  its  form  and  I  submitted  mine  in  writing, 
and  among  other  sentences  the  close  as  it  now 
stands,  which  he  adopted  from  my  draft  with  a  modi 
fication.  It  may  be  interesting  to  you  to  see  pre 
cisely  what  I  said,  and  I  copy  it.  You  must  remem 
ber  that  in  the  original  draft  there  was  no  reference 
whatever  to  Divine  or  human  sanction  of  the  act. 
What  I  said  was  this  at  the  conclusion  of  my  letter : 
•  Finally,  I  respectfully  suggest  that  on  an  occasion 
of  such  interest  there  can  be  no  imputation  of  affec 
tation  against  a  solemn  recognition  of  responsibility 
before  men  and  before  God,  and  that  some  such 


254  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

close  as  this  will  be  proper:  "  And  upon  this  act, 
sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act  of  justice  warranted 
by  the  Constitution  (and  of  duty  demanded  by  the 
circumstances  (of  the  country),  I  invoke  the  con 
siderate  judgment  of  mankind  and  the  gracious 
favor  of  Almighty  God.''  Mr.  Lincoln  adopted  this 
close,  substituting  only  for  the  words  inclosed  n 
parentheses  these  words  :  '  upon  military  necessity,' 
which  I  think  was  not  an  improvement.' ' 

MR.  DEFREES. 

During  his  Presidency  the  clergy  petitioned  him 
to  recommend  in  his  message  to  Congress  an  amend 
ment  to  the  Constitution  recognizing  the  existence 
of  God.  In  preparing  his  message  it  seems  that  he 
inserted  the  request.  Referring  to  this,  Mr.  Defrees, 
Superintendent  of  Public  Printing  during  Lincoln's 
administration,  says  : 

"  When  I  assisted  him  in  reading  the  proof  ho 
struck  it  out,  remarking  that  lie  had  not  made  up 
his  mind  as  to  its  propriety  "  ( Westminster  Revieir, 
Sept.  1891). 

HON.   WILLIAM    H.    SEWARD. 

In  his"  Travels  Around  the  World,"  Seward  records 
one  of  Lincoln's  sarcastic  hits  at  the  doctrine  of  end 
less  punishment.  Speaking  of  England's  jealousy  of 
the  United  States  in  certain  matters,  Seward  says  : 


WAS  HE  A  CHRISTIAN?  255 

"  That  hesitation  and  refusal  recall  President 
Lincoln's  story  of  the  intrusion  of  the  Universalists 
into  the  town  of  Springfield.  The  several  orthodox 
churches  agreed  that  their  pastors  should  preach 
down  the  heresy.  One  of  them  began  his  discourse 
with  these  emphatic  words  :  '  My  Brethren,  there  is 
a  dangerous  doctrine  creeping  in  among  us.  There 
are  those  who  are  teaching  that  all  men  will  be 
saved ;  but  my  dear  brethren,  ice  hope  for  better 
things ' "  (Travels  Around  the  World,  p.  513). 

JUDGE  AARON   GOODRICH. 

Judge  Goodrich,  of  Minnesota,  Lincoln's  minister 
to  Belgium,  who  was  one  of  the  most  accomplished 
scholars  in  the  West,  and  an  author  of  note,  and  who 
was  on  terms  of  close  intimacy  with  Lincoln,  both 
before  and  after  he  became  President,  says  : 

"He  [Lincoln]  believed  in  a  God,  i.e.,  Nature;  but 
he  did  not  believe  in  the  Christ,  nor  did  he  ever 
affiliate  with  any  church." 

FREDERICK  DOUGLAS. 

Abraham  Lincoln  believed  in  a  Supreme  Being, 
but  he  did  not  believe  in  the  God  of  Christians. 
The  God  of  Christians  was  to  him  the  most  hideous 
monster  that  the  imagination  of  man  had  ever  con 
ceived.  There  were  two  doctrines  taught  in  connec 
tion  with  this  deity  which  he  especially  abhorred— 
the  doctrine  of  endless  punishment,  and  the  doctrine 


256  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

of  vicarious  atonement.  That  the  innocent  should 
suffer  for  the  guilty — that  God  should  permit  his 
sinless  son  to  be  put  to  a  cruel  death  to  atone  for  tl  e 
sins  of  wicked  men — was  to  him  an  act  of  the  most 
infamous  injustice.  His  whole  nature  rebelled 
against  the  idea.  Frederick  Douglas  narrates  an  in 
cident  which,  while  it  has  no  direct  reference  to  this 
theological  doctrine,  yet  tends  to  disclose  his  abhor 
rence  of  the  idea.  Mr.  Douglas  was  engaged  in  re 
cruiting  colored  troops  and  visited  the  President  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  from  him  a  pledge  that  col 
ored  soldiers  would  be  allowed  the  same  privileges 
accorded  white  soldiers.  As  the  Confederate  Gov 
ernment  had  declared  that  they  would  be  treated  as 
insurgents,  he  also  urged  upon  him  the  necessity  of 
retaliating,  if  colored  prisoners  were  put  to  death. 
But  to  the  latter  proposition  Lincoln  would  not 
listen.  Mr.  Douglas  says  : 

"  I  shall  never  forget  the  benignant  expression  of 
his  face,  the  tearful  look  of  his  eye  and  the  quiver 
of  his  voice,  when  he  deprecated  a  resort  to  retalia 
tory  measures.  He  said  he  could  not  take  men  out 
and  kill  them  in  cold  blood  for  what  was  done  by 
others.  If  he  could  get  hold  of  the  persons  who 
were  guilty  of  killing  the  colored  prisoners  in  cold 
blood,  the  case  would  be  different,  but  lie  could  not 
kill  the  innocent  for  the  guilty  "  (Reminiscences  of  Lin 
coln,  pp.  188,  189). 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  257 

N  ICO  LAY  AND  HAY'S  "LIFE  OF  LINCOLN." 

Of  the  numerous  biographies  of  Lincoln  that  have 
been  published,  the  authors  of  three,  above  all 
others,  were  specially  qualified  and  possessed  the 
necessary  materials  for  a  reliable  biography  of  him 
— Herndon,  Lamon,  and  Nicolay  and  Hay. 

As  Colonel  Lamon's  "  Life  "  covers  but  a  part  of 
Lincoln's  career,  and  as  Mr.  Herndon's  "  Life  "  deals 
more  with  his  private  life  than  with  his  public  his 
tory,  the  biography  of  Lincoln  that  is  likely  to  be 
accepted  as  the  standard  authority,  is  the  work  writ 
ten  by  his  private  secretaries,  Col.  John  G.  Nicolay 
and  Col.  John  Hay,  which  originally  appeared  in  the 
Century  Magazine.  In  the  chapter  on  "  Lincoln  and 
the  Churches,"  the  religious  phase  of  Lincoln's 
character  is  presented.  In  dealing  with  this  ques 
tion  the  authors  have  carefully  avoided  the  rock  upon 
which  Lamon's  "  Life "  was  wrecked,  and  at  the 
same  time  have  refrained  from  repeating  the  misrep 
resentations  of  Holland  and  Arnold.  They  do  not 
offend  the  church  by  openly  declaring  that  Lincoln 
was  an  Infidel ;  neither  do  they  outrage  truth  by 
asserting  that  he  was  a  Christian.  They  affirm  that 
during  the  latter  years  of  his  life  he  recognized  a 
"superior  power,"  but  they  do  not  intimate  that  he 
recognized  Jesus  Christ  as  this  power,  or  any  part 
of  it,  nor  that  he  accepted  the  Bible  as  a  special 
revelation  of  this  power.  In  the  following  passage 


258  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

they  impliedly  deny  both  his  alleged  Atheism  and 
his  alleged  orthodoxy  : 

"  We  have  no  purpose  of  attempting  to  formulate 
his  creed  ;  we  question  if  he  himself  ever  did  so. 
There  have  been  swift  witnesses  who,  judging  from 
expressions  uttered  in  his  callow  youth,  have  called 
him  an  Atheist,  and  others  who,  with  the  most  laud 
able  intentions,  have  remembered  improbable  con 
versations  which  they  bring  forward  to  prove  at 
once  his  orthodoxy  and  their  own  intimacy  with 
him." 

As  it  is  not  claimed  that  Lincoln  was  an  Atheist, 
especially  during  the  last  years  of  his  life,  the  above 
can  very  properly  be  brought  forward  in  support  of 
the  negative  of  this  question.  In  the  last  clause  it 
is  intended  by  the  authors  to  administer  a  sarcastic 
rebuke  to  such  witnesses  as  Brooks,  Willets  and 
Vinton,  as  well  as  deny  the  truthfulness  of  their 
statements. 

In  regard  to  Lincoln's  youth,  the  following  from 
Nicolay  and  Hay's  work  corroborates  Lamon's 
statements  and  refutes  those  of  Holland: 

"  We  are  making  no  claim  of  early  saintship  for 
him.  He  was  merely  a  good  boy,  with  sufficient 
wickedness  to  prove  his  humanity.  .  .  .  It  is 
also  reported  that  he  sometimes  impeded  the  celeritv 
of  harvest  operations  by  making  burlesque  speeches, 
or  worse  than  that,  comic  sermons,  from  the  top  of 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  259 

some  tempting  stump,  to  the  delight  of  the  hired 
hands  and  the  exasperation  of  the  farmer." 

HON.   WARREN    CHASE. 

In  1888,  I  received  a  brief  letter  from  "Warren 
Chase  pertaining  to  Lincoln's  religious  belief.  Mr. 
Chase  was  acquainted  with  Lincoln  in  Washington. 
His  letter  has  been  mislaid,  but  I  recall  the  principal 
points  in  it,  which  are  as  follows  :  1.  Lincoln  was 
not  a  believer  in  Christianity  ;  2.  He  was  much  in 
terested  in  the  phenomena  of  Spiritualism. 

HON.  A.  J.  GROVER. 

A.  J.  Grover,  a  life-long  reformer,  an  old-time 
Abolitionist,  an  able  advocate  of  human  liberty,  and 
a  personal  friend  and  admirer  of  Lincoln,  in  a  letter 
written  April  13,  1888,  sends  me  the  following  as  his 
testimony  : 

"  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  a  religious  man  in  the 
church  sense.  He  was  an  Agnostic.  He  did  not  be 
lieve  in  the  Bible  as  the  infallible  word  of  God.  He 
believed  that  Nature  is  God's  word,  given  to  all  men 
in  a  universal  language  which  is  equally  accessible 
to  all,  if  all  are  equally  intelligent.  That  this  great 
lesson,  God's  word  in  his  works,  is  infinite,  and  that 
men  have  only  learned  a  very  little  of  it,  and  have 
yet  the  most  to  learn.  That  the  religions  of  all  ages 
and  peoples  are  only  very  feeble  and  imperfect 


260  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN: 

attempts  to  solve  the  great  problems  involved  in 
nature  and  her  laws.  Mr.  Lincoln  heartily  disliked 
the  narrow  and  silly  pretensions  of  the  church  and 
priesthood  who  now  falsely  claim  him,  as  they  do 
Washington,  Franklin  and  others. 

"  I  knew  Mr.  Lincoln  from  the  Douglas  cam 
paign  in  Illinois  in  1858  until  his  death,  and  I  never 
heard  him  on  any  occasion  use  a  single  pious  ex 
pression  in  the  sense  of  the  church — not  a  word  th:  t 
indicated  that  he  believed  in  the  church  theology 
But  I  have  heard  him  use  many  expressions  tlu.t 
indicated  that  he  did  not  know  much,  or  pretend  to 
know  much,  and  had  no  settled  convictions  concern 
ing  the  great  questions  that  theology  deals  so 
flippantly  with,  and  pretends  to  know  all  about. 
And  I  know  to  my  own  knowledge  that  the  claim 
the  church  now  sets  up  that  he  was  a  Christian  is 
false — as  false  as  it  is  in  regard  to  Washington." 

Writing  to  me  again  under  date  of  Jan.  12,  1889, 
Mr.  Grover  says  : 

"  I  knew  Mr.  Lincoln  in  Illinois  and  in  Washington. 
I  was  in  the  War  office,  for  a  time,  in  a  department 
which  had  charge  of  the  President's  books,  so-called. 
I  met  him  in  passing  between  the  White  House  and 
the  buildings  then  occupied  by  the  War  Department, 
almost  every  day.  I  often  had  to  go  to  Mr.  Stan- 
ton's  office,  and  have  often  seen  Mr.  Lincoln  there. 
I  frequently  had  to  go  to  the  White  House  to  see 


WAS   HE   A    CHEISTIAN?  261 

him.     It  was  known  to  all   of  his  acquaintances  that 
he  was  a  Liberal  or  Rationalist." 

JUDGE  JAMES   M.  NELSON. 

The  last,  and  in  some  respects  the  most  important, 
of  our  Washington  witnesses  is  Judge  James  M. 
Nelson.  Judge  Nelson  for  many  years  has  been  a 
resident  of  New  York,  but  he  formerly  lived  in  Ken 
tucky  and  Illinois,  Lincoln's  native  and  adopted 
states.  He  is  a  son  of  Thomas  Pope  Nelson,  a.  dis 
tinguished  member  of  Congress  from  Kentucky,  and 
the  first  United  States  Minister  to  Turkey.  His 
great  grandfather  was  Thomas  Nelson,  Jr.,  a  signer 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  from  Virginia. 
He  was  long  and  intimately  acquainted  with  Lin 
coln  both  in  Illinois  and  Washington.  About  the 
close  of  1886,  or  early  in  1887,  Judge  Nelson  pub 
lished  his  "Reminiscences  of  Abraham  Lincoln" 
in  the  Louisville,  Ky.,  Times.  In  reference  to  Lin 
coln's  religious  opinions  he  says  : 

"  In  religion,  Mr.  Lincoln  was  about  of  the  same 
belief  as  Bob  Ingersoll,  and  there  is  no  account  of 
his  ever  having  changed.  He  went  to  church  a  few 
times  with  his  family  while  he  was  President,  but  so 
far  as  I  have  been  able  to  find  out  he  remained  an 
unbeliever." 

"Mr.  Lincoln  in  his  younger  days  wrote  a  book," 
says  Judge  Nelson,  "in  which  he  endeavored  to 


262  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

prove  the  fallacy  of  the  plan  of  salvation  and  the 
divinity  of  Christ." 

I  have  yet  another  passage  from  Judge  Nelson  s 
"  Reminiscences  "  to  present,  a  passage  which,  more 
than  anything  else  in  this  volume,  perhaps,  is  calcu 
lated  to  provoke  the  wrath  of  Christian  claimants. 
To  lend  an  air  of  plausibility  to  their  claims  these 
claimants  are  continually  citing  expressions  of  a 
seemingly  semi-pious  character  occasionally  to  be 
met  with  in  his  speeches  and  state  papers.  These 
expressions,  in  a  measure  accounted  for  by  Mr. 
Herndon,  Colonel  Lamon,  and  others,  are  still 
further  explained  by  a  revelation  from  his  own  lips. 
Judge  Nelson  says  : 

"I  asked  him  once  about  his  fervent  Thanksgiving 
Message  and  twitted  him  with  being  an  unbeliever 
in  what  was  published.  'Oh,'  said  he,  'that  is 
some  of  Seward's  nonsense,  and  it  pleases  the 
fools.5 " 


WAS    HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  263 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

OTHER   TESTIMONY   AND    OPINIONS. 

New  York  World — Boston  Globe — Chicago  Herald — Manford'8 
Magazine — Herald  and  Review — Chambers's  Encyclopedia — 
Encyclopedia  Britauuica — People's  Library  of  Information — The 
World's  Sages — Every-Day  Life  of  Lincoln — Hon.  Jesse  W.  Weik — 
Chas.  W.  French — Cyrus  0.  Poole — A  Citizen  of  Springfield — Henry 
Walker — Wm.  Bissett— Frederick  Heath — Rev.  Edward  Eggleston— 
Rev.  Robert  Collyer — Allen  Thorndike  Rice— Robert  C.  Adams — 
Theodore  Stanton- G-eo.  M.  McCrie — Gen.  M.  M.  Trumbull— Rev. 
David  Swing,  D.D. — Rev.  J.  Lloyd  Jones — Rev.  John  W.  Chad  wick. 

THE  matter  selected  for  this  chapter  is  of  a  miscel 
laneous  nature,  consisting  of  the  statements  of  those 
who,  for  the  most  part,  are  not  known  to  have  been 
personally  acquainted  with  Lincoln.  It  embraces 
the  opinions  of  journalists,  encyclopedists,  biogra 
phers,  and  others.  If  their  words  cannot  be  ac 
cepted  as  the  testimony  of  competent  witnesses,  they 
may  at  least  be  regarded  as  the  verdict  of  honest 
jurors. 

NEW    YORK    WORLD. 

In  the  New  York  World,  fifteen  years  ago,  ap 
peared  the  following  : 

"  "While  it  may  fairly  be  said  that  Mr.  Lincoln  en 
tertained  many  Christian  sentiments,  it  cannot  be 


264  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

said  that  he  was  himself  a  Christian  in  faith  e>r 
practice.  He  was  no  disciple  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
He  did  not  believe  in  his  divinity  and  was  not  a 
member  of  his  church. 

"  He  was  af  first  a  writing  Infidel  of  the  school  of 
Paine  and  Volney,  and  afterward  a  talking  Infidel  of 
the  school  of  Parker  and  Channing." 

Alluding  to  the  friendly  attitude  he  assumed 
toward  the  church  and  Christianity  during  the  war, 
this  article  concludes  : 

"If  the  churches  had  grown  cold — if  the  Chris 
tians  had  taken  a  stand  aloof — that  instant  the 
Union  would  have  perished.  Mr.  Lincoln  regulated 
his  religious  manifestations  accordingly.  He  de 
clared  frequently  that  he  would  do  anything  to  save 
the  Union,  and  among  the  many  things  he  did  was  the 
partial  concealment  of  his  individual  religious  opin 
ions.  Is  this  a  blot  upon  his  fame  ?  Or  shall  wo 
all  agree  that  it  was  a  conscientious  and  patriotic 
sacrifice  ?" 

BOSTON  GLOBE. 

As  evidence  of  Lincoln's  piety,  we  are  referred  tc 
a  picture  where  Lincoln,  with  his  son  Tad,  is  sup 
posed  to  be  reverentially  poring  over  the  pages  of 
the  Bible.  The  history  of  this  picture,  however,  has 
often  been  explained,  and  its  apparently  religious 


WAS   HE   A   CHKISTIAN?  265 

character  shown  to  be  quite  secular.     The  Boston 
Globe,  in  a  recent  issue,  says  : 

"  The  pretty  little  story  about  the  picture  of 
President  Lincoln  and  his  son  Tad  reading  the  Bible 
is  now  corrected  for  the  one-hundredth  time.  The 
Bible  was  Photographer  Brady's  picture  album, 
which  the  President  was  examining  with  his  son 
while  some  ladies  stood  by.  The  artist  begged  the 
President  to  remain  quiet  and  the  picture  was  taken. 
The  truth  is  better  than  fiction,  even  if  its  recital 
conflicts  with  a  pleasing  theory." 

CHICAGO   HERALD. 

During  February,  1892,  the  Chicago  Herald  pub 
lished  an  editorial  on  Lincoln's  religion.  Being  one 
of  the  latest  contributions  to  this  subject,  and  ap 
pearing  in  one  of  the  principal  journals  of  Lincoln's 
own  state,  it  is  of  especial  importance.  It  is  a  can 
did  statement  of  what  nearly  every  journalist  of  Illi 
nois  knows  or  believes  to  be  the  facts.  From  it  I 
quote  as  follows  : 

"  He  was  without  faith  in  the  Bible  or  its  teach 
ings.  On  this  point  the  testimony  is  so  over 
whelming  that  there  is  no  basis  for  doubt.  In  his 
early  life  Lincoln  exhibited  a  powerful  tendency  to 
aggressive  Infidelity.  But  when  he  grew  to  be  a 
politician  he  became  secretive  and  non-committal  in 
his  religious  belief.  He  was  shrewd  enough  to 


266  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

realize  the  necessity  of  reticence  with  the  convic 
tions  he  possessed  if  he  hoped  to  succeed  in 
politics. 

"  It  is  matter  of  history  that  in  1834,  at  Now 
Salem,  111.,  Lincoln  read  and  circulated  Volney's 
•  Hums'  and  Paine's  'Age  of  Reason,'  giving  to  both 
books  the  sincere  recommendation  of  his  unqualified 
approval.  About  that  time  or  a  little  later  he  wrote 
an  extensive  argument  against  Christianity,  intend 
ing  to  publish  it.  In  this  argument  he  contended  th.it 
the  Bible  was  not  inspired  arid  that  Jesus  Christ  was 
not  the  son  of  God.  He  read  this  compilation  of  his 
views  to  numerous  friends,  and  on  one  occasion 
when  so  engaged  his  friend  and  employer,  Samuel 
Hill,  snatched  the  manuscript  from  the  author's 
hands  and  threw  it  into  the  stove,  where  it  was 
quickly  consumed.  A  Springfield  friend  said  of  him 
in  1838,  '  Lincoln  was  enthusiastic  in  his  Infidelity.' 
John  T.  Stuart,  who  was  his  first  law  partner,  de 
clares  :  '  Lincoln  was  an  avowed  and  open  Infidel. 
He  went  further  against  Christian  belief  than  any 
man  I  ever  heard.  He  always  denied  that  Jesus 
was  the  Christ  of  God.'  David  Davis  stated  that 
'  Lincoln  had  absolutely  no  faith  in  the  Christian 
sense  of  the  term.' 

"  These  authorities  ought  to  be  conclusive,  but 
there  is  further  testimony.  This  latter  is  important 
as  explanatory  of  Lincoln's  frequent  allusions  in  his 


WAS   HE   A   CHI1ISTIAN?  267 

Presidential  messages  aiid  proclamations  to  the  Su 
preme  Being.  To  the  simplicity  of  his  nature  there 
was  added  a  poetic  temperament.  He  was  fond  of 
effective  imagery,  and  his  references  to  the  Deity  are 
due  to  the  instinct  of  the  poet.  After  his  death  Mrs. 
Lincoln  said  :  *  Mr.  Lincoln  had  no  faith  and  no 
hope  in  the  usu  rl  acceptation  of  those  words.  He 
never  joined  a  church.'  She  denominates  what  has 
been  mistaken  for  his  expressions  of  religious  senti 
ment  as  k  a  kind  of  poetry  in  his  nature,'  adding  '  he 
was  never  a  Christian.'  Hernclon,  who  was  his  latest 
law  partner  and  biographer,  is  even  more  explicit. 
He  says :  '  No  man  had  a  stronger  or  firmer  faith 
in  Providence — God — than  Mr.  Lincoln,  but  the 
continued  use  by  him  late  in  life  of  the  word  God 
must  not  be  interpreted  to  mean  that-  he  believed  in 
a  personal  God.  In  1854  he  asked  me  to  erase  the 
word  '  God '  from  a  speech  which  I  had  written  and 
read  to  him  for  criticism,  because  my  language  indi 
cated  a  personal  God,  whereas  he  insisted  no  such 
personality  ever  existed.' 

"  So  it  must  be  accepted  as  final  by  every  reason 
able  mind  that  in  religion  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  skeptic. 
But  above  all  things  he  was  not  a  hypocrite  or  pre 
tender.  He  was  a  plain  man,  rugged  and  earnest, 
and  he  pretended  to  be  nothing  more.  He  believed 
in  humanity,  and  he  was  incapable  of  Phariseeism. 
He  had  great  respect  for  the  feelings  and  convictions 


268  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  I 

of  others,  but  he  was  not  a  sniveler.  He  was  honest 
and  he  was  sincere,  and  taking  him  simply  for  what 
he  was,  we  are  not  likely  soon  to  see  his  like 
again." 

MANFORD'S   MAGAZINE. 

There  are  two  Christian  publications  that  ha\e 
had  the  fairness  to  admit  the  truth  respecting  Lin 
coln's  belief.  Manford's  Magazine,  a  religious  peri 
odical  published  in  Chicago,  in  its  issue  for 
January,  1869,  contained  the  following : 

"  That  Mr.  Lincoln  was  a  believer  in  the  Christian 
religion,  as  understood  by  the  so-called  orthodox: 
sects  of  the  day,  I  am  compelled  most  emphatically 
to  deny ;  that  is,  if  I  put  faith  in  the  statements  of 
his  most  intimate  friends  in  this  city  [Springfield]. 
All  of  them  with  whom  I  have  conversed  on  this 
subject,  agree  in  indorsing  the  statements  of  Mr. 
Herndon.  Indeed,  many  of  them  unreservedly  call 
him  an  Infidel." 

"  The  evidence  on  this  subject  is  sufficient,  the 
writer  says,  to  place  the  name  of  Lincoln  by  the 
side  of  Franklin,  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  [Ethan] 
Allen,  of  Eevolutionary  notoriety,  as  Rationalists  ; 
besides  being  in  company  with  D'Alembert,  the 
great  mathematician,  Diderot,  the  geometrician,  poet, 
and  metaphysician ;  also  with  Voltaire,  Hume,  Gib 
bon,  and  Darwin." 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  269 

Referring  to  the  Infidel  book,  written  by  Lincoln, 
the  writer  says  : 

"  This  work  was  subsequently  thrown  in  Mr.  Lin 
coln's  face  while  he  was  stumping  this  district  for 
Congress  against  the  celebrated  Methodist  preacher, 
Rev.  Peter  Cartwright.  But  Mr.  Lincoln  never 
publicly  or  privately  denied  its  authorship,  or  the 
sentiments  expressed  therein.  Nor  was  he  known 
to  change  his  religious  views  any,  to  the  latest 
period  of  his  life." 

The  article  concludes  with  these  truthful  words  : 

"Mr.  Lincoln  was  too  good  a  man  to  be  a 
Pharisee  ;  too  great  a  man  to  be  a  sectarian ;  and 
too  charitable  a  man  to  be  a  bigot." 

HERALD    AND    REVIEW. 

This  work,  in  an  abridged  form,  originally  ap 
peared  in  the  Truth  Seeker  in  1889  and  1890.  After 
its  appearance,  the  Adventist  Herald  and  Review, 
one  of  the  fairest  and  most  ably  conducted  religious 
journals  in  this  country,  said  : 

"  The  Truth  Seeker  has  just  concluded  the  publi 
cation  of  a  series  of  fifteen  contributed  articles  de 
signed  to  prove  that  Abraham  Lincoln,  instead  of 
being  a  Christian,  as  has  been  most  strongly 
claimed  by  some,  was  a  Freethinker.  The  testimony 
seems  conclusive.  .  .  .  The  majority  of  the 
great  men  of  the  world  have  always  rejected  Christ, 


270  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

and,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  they  always  wil; ; 
and  the  efforts  of  Christians  to  make  it  appear  thr.t 
certain  great  men  who  never  professed  Christianity 
were  in  reality  Christians,  is  simply  saying  tluit 
Christianity  cannot  stand  on  its  merits,  but  must 
have  the  support  of  great  names  to  entitle  it  t  > 
favorable  consideration." 

CHAMBER S'S   ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

Alden's  American  Edition  of  "Chambers's  Encyclo- 
pedia,"  one  of  the  most  popular  as  well  as  one  of 
the  most  reliable  of  encyclopedias,  says  : 

'*'  He  [Lincoln]  was  never  a  member  of  a  church  ; 
he  is  believed  to  have  had  philosophical  doubts  of 
the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  of  the  inspiration  of  the 
Scriptures,  as  these  are  commonly  stated  in  the 
system  of  doctrines  called  evangelical.  In  early  life 
he  read  Yolney  and  Paine,  and  wrote  an  essay  in 
which  he  agreed  with  their  conclusions.  Of  modern 
thinkers  he  was  thought  to  agree  nearest  with 
Theodore  Parker  "  (Art.  Lincoln,  Abraham). 

ENCYCLOPEDIA    BKIIANNICA. 

By  whom  the  article  on  Lincoln  in  "  Chambers's 
Encyclopedia  "  was  written,  whether  by  one  of  Lin 
coln's  personal  friends,  or  by  a  stranger,  I  know 
not.  The  article  in  the  "  Britannica  "  was  written 
by  his  private  secretary,  Colonel  Nicolay.  In  this 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  271 

article  his  religion  is  briefly  summed  up  in  the 
following  words : 

"  His  [Lincoln's]  nature  was  deeply  religious,  but 
he  belonged  to  no  denomination ;  he  had  faith  in 
the  eternal  justice  and  boundless  me  rev  of  Provi 
dence  ;  and  made  the  Golden  Rule  of  Christ  his 
practical  creed"  (Am.  Ed.,  vol.  xiv.  p.  669). 

This  statement  at  first  glance  presents  a  Christian 
appearance,  and  the  reader  is  liable  to  infer  that  the 
writer  aims  to  state  that  Lincoln  was  a  Christian. 
But  he  does  not.  He  aims  to  state  in  the  least 
offensive  manner  possible  that  he  was  not — that  he 
was  simply  a  Deist.  A  person  may  have  a  "  deeply 
religious  "  nature,  and  not  be  a  Christian.  He  may 
have  "  faith  in  the  eternal  justice  and  boundless 
mercy  of  Providence,"  and  yet  have  no  faith  what 
ever  in  Christianity.  He  may  make  "  the  Golden 
Rule  of  Christ  [or  Confucius]  his  practical  creed," 
and  at  the  same  time  wholly  reject  the  dogma  of 
Christ's  divinity.  The  above  statement  is  substan 
tially  true  as  applied  to  Lincoln,  and  it  would  be 
equally  true  if  applied  to  that  prince  of  Infidels, 
Thomas  Paine.  His  nature  was  deeply  religious;  he 
had  faith  in  the  justice  and  mercy  of  Providence  ;  and 
he,  too,  made  the  Golden  Rule  his  practical  creed. 

PEOPLE'S    LIBRARY    OF   INFORMATION. 
Mrs.  Lincoln  was  nominally  a  Presbyterian,  and 


272  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  t 

frequently,  though  not  regularly,  attended  the  Rnv. 
Dr.  Gurley's  church  in  Washington.  Lincoln  usuaJ  ly 
accompanied  her,  not  because  he  derived  any  pleas 
ure  or  benefit  from  the  services,  but  because  he  be 
lieved  it  to  be  a  duty  he  owed  to  his  wife  who,  in 
turn,  generally  accompanied  him  when  he  went  to 
his  church,  the  theater.  "  The  People's  Library  of 
Information"  contains  the  following  relative  to  Ins 
church  attendance  : 

"  Lincoln  attended  service  once  a  day.  He  seemnd 
always  to  be  in  agony  while  in  church.  .  .  .  His 
pastor,  Dr.  Gurley,  had  the  'gift  of  continuance,' 
and  the  President  writhed  and  squirmed  and  gave 
unmistakable  evidence  of  the  torture  he  endured." 

THE  WORLD'S  SAGES. 

In  "  The  World's  Sages,"  Mr.  Bennett  writes  as 
follows  concerning  Lincoln's  belief  : 

"  Upon  the  subject  of  religious  belief  there  is  some 
diversity  of  claims.  All  his  friends  and  acquaint 
ances  readily  admit  that  in  early  manhood  and 
middle  age  he  was  an  unbeliever,  or  a  Deist.  In 
fact,  he  wrote  a  book  or  pamphlet  vindicating  this 
view.  His  most  intimate  friends  that  knew  him 
best,  claim  that  his  opinions  underwent  no  change 
in  this  respect ;  while  a  certain  number  of  Christians 
have,  since  his  death,  undertaken  to  make  out  that 


WAS    HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  273 

he  had  become  a  convert  to  Christianity  "  (World's 
Sages,  p.  773). 

"  "When  the  contradictory  character  of  the  evidence 
is  taken  into  consideration,  together  with  the  fact 
that  his  nearest  and  most  intimate  friends  would  be 
most  likely  the  ones  to  know  of  Mr.  Lincoln's 
change,  had  any  such  taken  place,  the  incredibility 
of  the  asserted  change  is  easily  appreciated  "  (Ibid, 
p.  774). 

THE  E VERY-DAY  LIFE    OF  LINCOLN. 

In  the  Emancipation  Proclamation  appears  the 
following  paragraph,  which  contains  the  only  allusion 
to  Deity  to  be  found  in  this  immortal  document : 

"And  upon  this  act,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an 
act  of  justice,  warranted  by  the  Constitution,  upon 
military  necessity,  I  invoke  the  considerate  judg 
ment  of  mankind  and  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty 
God." 

The  appearance  of  the  above  paragraph  in  the 
Proclamation  is  thus  accounted  for  in  Francis  F. 
Brown's  "  Every-Day  Life  of  Lincoln,"  and  agrees 
with  Judge  Usher's  and  Chief  Justice  Chase's  ac 
count  of  it : 

"It  is  stated  that  Mr.  Lincoln  gave  the  most 
earnest  study  to  the  composition  of  the  Emancipa 
tion  Proclamation.  He  realized,  as  he  afterward 
said,  that  the  Proclamation  was  the  central  act  of 


274  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

his  administration,  and  the  great  event  of  the  Nine 
teenth  Century.  When  the  document  was  completed, 
a  printed  copy  of  it  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  each 
member  of  the  Cabinet,  and  criticisms  and  sugges 
tions  were  invited.  Mr.  Chase  remarked:  'This 
paper  is  of  the  utmost  importance,  greater  than  an  y 
state  paper  ever  made  by  this  Government.  A 
paper  of  so  much  importance,  and  involving  the 
liberties  of  so  many  people,  ought,  I  think,  to  mak-3 
some  reference  to  Deity.  I  do  not  observe  anything 
of  the  kind  in  it "  (Every-Day  Life  of  Lincoln,  pp. 
549,  550). 

The  amendment  suggested  was  allowed  by  the 
President,  and  Mr.  Chase  requested  to  supply  the- 
words  he  desired  to  be  inserted.  The  paragraph 
quoted  was  accordingly  prepared  by  him  and  in 
cluded  in  the  Proclamation.  This  fact  is  also  ad 
mitted  by  Holland  in  his  "Life  of  Lincoln"  (p. 
401). 

HON.  JESSE   W.   WEIK. 

Judge  Weik,  of  Greencastle,  Ind.,  who  was  asso 
ciated  with  Mr.  Herndon  in  the  preparation  of  his 
"  Life  of  Lincoln,"  in  a  lecture  on  "  Lincoln's  Boy 
hood  and  Early  Manhood,"  delivered  in  Plymouth 
Church,  Indianapolis,  Feb.  4,  1891.  said  : 

"  As  a  young  man  he  sat  back  of  the  country  store 
stove  and  said  the  Bible  was  not  inspired,  and 


WAS    HE    A    CHRISTIAN?  275 

Christ  was  not  the  Sou  of  God  "  (Indianapolis  Neios, 
Feb.  5,  '91). 

CHARLES    WALLACE  FRENCH. 

One  of  the  last  biographies  of  Lincoln  that  has 
appeared  is  "  Abraham  Lincoln  The  Liberator," 
written  b}T  Charles  W.  French.  After  citing  with 
approval  some  of  Mr.  Herndon's  statements  regard 
ing  Lincoln's  belief,  Mr.  French  says  : 

"  The  world  was  his  [Lincoln's]  church.  His 
sermons  were  preached  in  kindly  words  and  merciful 
deeds  "  (p.  91). 

CYRUS   0.  POOLE. 

I  quote  next  from  a  monograph  on  "  The  Relig 
ious  Convictions  of  Abraham  Lincoln,"  written  by 
Cyrus  O.  Poole.  Referring  to  Arnold's  and  Hol 
land's  biographies  of  Lincoln,  Mr.  Poole  says  : 

"  Most  sectarians  now  think,  write,  and  act  as  if 
they  had  a  copyright  to  apply  '  Christian  '  to  every 
thing  good  and  God-like  about  this  President ;  yet 
no  one  presumed  to  call  him  a  Christian  until  after 
his  death. 

"  It  may  be  a  soul-saving  process  like  the  ancient 
one  of  Pope  Gregory  in  the  sixth  century.  It  is  re 
lated  that  one  day  he  was  meditating  on  an  anecdote 
of  the  Pagan  Emperor  Tragan's  having  turned  back, 
when  at  the  head  of  his  legions  on  his  way  to  battle, 
to  render  justice  to  a  poor  widow  who  flung  herself 


276  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  1 

at  his  horse's  feet.  It  seemed  to  Gregory  that  tne 
soul  of  a  prince  so  good  could  not  be  forever  lost, 
Pagan  though  he  was ;  and  he  prayed  for  him,  till  a 
voice  declared  Tragan  to  have  been  saved  through 
his  intercession.  And  thus,  through  the  prayer  of  a 
Christian  Pope,  a  pagan  of  the  first,  was  materialized 
into  a  Christian  in  the  sixth  century,  and  was,  of 
course,  transferred  from  hell  to  heaven.  Now  bo- 
hold  how  a  modern  politician  [Arnold]  can  play 
theologian  in  Christianizing  Abraham  Lincoln. 

"  There  is  now  hope  for  Benjamin  Franklin, 
John  Adams,  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  as  well  as 
the  chieftains,  Red  Jacket,  Tecumseh,  and  Black 
Hawk." 

Respecting  Lincoln's  message  to  his  dying  father, 
Mr.  Poole,  himself  a  firm  believer  in  the  doctrine  of 
immortality,  says  : 

"  This  prophetic  affirmation  of  a  continued  exist 
ence,  is  the  only  written  evidence  of  his  views  on 
this  momentous  question  that  can  be  found." 

In  addition  to  the  above,  I  cull  from  the  same 
work  the  following  brief  extracts  : 

"  He  lived  in  a  remarkably  formative  and  pro 
gressive  period,  and  was  in  all  matters  fully  abreast 
with  his  time.  As  a  truthful  thinker,  he  greatly  ex 
celled  any  of  the  statesmen  of  his  day." 

"  Lincoln,  like  Socrates,  was  a  man  so  natural,  so 
thoughtful,  rational,  and  sagacious,  that  he  clearly 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  277 

saw  that  the  popular  traditional  theology  of  his  day 
and  age  was  not  religion." 

A    CITIZEN    OF  SPRINGFIELD. 

A  gentleman  residing  in  Springfield,  111.,  who  was 
intimately  acquainted  with  Lincoln  from  the  time  he 
located  in  that  city  up  to  the  time  he  removed  to 
Washington,  a  period  of  nearly  twenty-five  years,  in 
a  letter  dated  Aug.  20,  1887,  writes  as  follows : 

"  I  will  say  in  regard  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  religious 
views  that  he  was  not  orthodox  in  his  belief,  unless 
he  changed  after  he  left  Springfield.  He  was  hetero 
dox — did  not  believe  in  the  divinity  of  Christ — in 
short,  was  a  Freethinker.  Now  I  do  not  want  to  be 
brought  into  public  notice  in  this  matter." 

In  deference  to  this  writer's  request  his  name  is 
omitted,  and  this  omission  destroys,  to  a  greatextent, 
the  value  of  his  testimony.  It  is  inserted  not  be 
cause  it  adds  any  particular  weight  to  the  evidence 
already  adduced,  but  as  a  specimen  of  a  very  large 
amount  of  evidence  of  the  same  character  that  must 
be  withheld  simply  because  the  persons  writing  or 
interviewed  shrink  from  publicity.  A  chapter,  yes,  a 
volume,  of  this  anonymous  testimony  might  be  given. 
At  least  a  hundred  personal  friends  of  Lincoln,  living 
in  and  about  Springfield,  privately  and  confidentially 
assert  that  he  was  an  Infidel,  but  will  not  permit 
their  names  to  be  used.  Twenty  years  ago  a  majority 


278  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

of  them  would  not  have  objected  to  their  statements 
being  published  ;  but  the  relentless  war  waged  by 
the  church  against  those  who  have  publicly  certified 
to  the  facts  has  sealed  their  lips. 

HEHRY   WALKER. 

I  now  present  to  the  reader  another  citizen  of 
Springfield,  one  who  is  not  afraid  to  publicly  ex- 
press  an  honest  opinion.  Mr.  Henry  Walker,  who 
has  resided  in  that  city  for  many  years,  writes  as 
follows  concerning  Lincoln's  religious  belief : 

"  After  inquiring  of  those  who  were  intimate  and 
familiar  with  him,  I  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  he 
was  a  Deist." 

"  There  is  a  rumor  current  here  that  he  once  wrote 
an  anti-Christian  pamphlet,  but  his  friends  per 
suaded  him  not  to  publish  it." 

Mr.  Walker  was  not  personally  acquainted  with 
Lincoln.  His  conclusion  is  simply  based  upon  the 
information  obtained  from  those  who  were  ac 
quainted  with  him.  His  statement,  like  the  preced 
ing  one,  is  introduced  not  so  much  because  of  any 
especial  value  attaching  to  it  as  mere  testimony,  but 
because  it  fairly  represents  the  common  sentiment 
of  those  who  have  investigated  this  subject,  and 
particularly  those  who  are  on  familiar  terms  with 
Lincoln's  old  associates  in  Illinois.  The  knowledge 
of  our  anonymous  witness  was  shared  by  Dr.  Smith, 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  279 

Mr.  Arnold,  and  Mr.  Edwards ;  the  opinion  ex 
pressed  by  Mr.  Walker  was  the  opinion  privately 
entertained  by  Dr.  Holland,  it  is  the  opinion  pri 
vately  entertained  by  Mr.  Bateman,  yes,  and  unques 
tionably  the  opinion  privately  entertained  by  Mr. 
Eeed  himself. 

WILLIAM   BISSETT. 

An  article  on  Lincoln's  religion  written  by  Mr. 
Wm.  Bissett,  of  Santa  Ana,  Cal.,  and  recently  pub 
lished  in  the  Truth  Seeker,  contains  some  evidence 
that  deserves  to  be  recorded.  Mr.  Bissett  narrates 
the  following  : 

"  In  the  Spring  of  1859  we  moved  into  Livingston 
county,  Mo.,  near  Chillicothe.  We  at  once  became 
acquainted  with  a  man  by  the  name  of  William 
Jeeter.  Mr.  Jeeter  was  a  native  of  Kentucky,  and  if 
I  mistake  not,  was  born  and  raised  in  the  same  part 
of  the  country  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  but  about  that 
I  am  not  sure.  Mr.  Jeeter  told  me  that  Lincoln  and 
himself  settled  in  Illinois  when  they  were  young 
men,  and  boarded  together  for  a  number  of  years. 
He  says  he  knew  every  act  of  Lincoln's  life  up  to 
the  time  he  (Jeeter)  left  Illinois,  a  few  years  before 
Mr.  Lincoln's  nomination  for  the  Presidency.  I  was 
helping  Jeeter  build  a  house  for  himself  when  we 
received  the  news  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  nomination  ;  that 
is  why  we  came  to  speak  so  particularly  about  him. 


280  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN: 

Mr.  Jeeter  told  me  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  not  a  be 
liever  in  the  Christian  religion ;  that  is,  he  did  not 
believe  the  Bible  was  an  inspired  work,  nor  that 
Jesus  Christ  was  the  son  of  God.  '  Nevertheless/ 
said  Mr.  Jeeter, '  he  was  one  of  the  most  honest  men 
I  ever  knew.  If  I  had  a  million  dollars  I  wouldn't 
be  afraid  to  trust  it  to  Lincoln  without  the  scratc  i 
of  a  pen,  I  know  the  man  so  well.'  Mr.  Jeeter  was  a 
strong  believer  in  the  Christian  religion  and  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Cumberland  Presbyterian  church,  and  ,1 
very  fine  and  reliable  man." 

FREDERICK  HEATH. 

The  following  is  from  an  article  on  Lincoln  by  Mr. 
Frederick  Heath,  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.  : 

"  Two  years  ago  I  was  associated  with  Major  Geo. 
H.  Norris,  a  wealthy  orange-grower  of  Florida,  in 
that  state,  and  was  in  a  degree  his  confidant.  In 
earlier  years,  while  a  lawyer  in  Illinois,  Major 
Norris  (he  was  at  one  time  mayor  of  Ottawa,  111.) 
was  quite  closely  associated  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  and 
he  gave  me  to  understand  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  an 
extreme  skeptic.  They  were  thrown  together  a  good 
deal  at  Springfield,  where  they  were  trying  cases  be 
fore  the  supreme  court.  Lincoln  would  frequently 
keep  them  from  sleep  by  his  stories  and  arguments, 
and  frequently  spoke  of  religious  matters  in  a  way 
that  showed  he  was  convinced  of  the  delusion 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  281 

of  faith.  I  wish  I  could  quote  the  Major's  words  as 
to  Lincoln's  remarks  on  religion,  but  will  not  venture 
to  frame  them,  as  this  is  a  subject  that  demands 
truth  and  exactness." 

REV.  EDWARD  EGGLESTON. 

When  Lincoln  went  to  New  York  in  the  winter  of 
1860,  to  deliver  his  Cooper  Institute  address,  he  had 
occasion  to  remain  over  Sunday  in  that  city.  At  the 
suggestion  of  a  friend,  he  visited  the  famous  Five 
Points,  and  attended  a  Sunday-school  where  the 
spawn  of  New  York's  worst  inhabitants  to  the  num 
ber  of  several  hundred  were  assembled.  Importuned 
for  a  speech,  he  made  a  few  remarks  to  the  children, 
and  the  fact  was  published  in  the  papers.  The  idea 
of  this  Infidel  politician  addressing  a  Sunday-school 
was  so  ludicrous  that  it  caused  much  merriment 
among  his  friends  at  Springfield.  When  he  returned 
home  one  of  them,  probably  Colonel  Matheny,  called 
on  him  to  learn  what  it  all  meant.  The  conversation 
that  followed,  including  Lincoln's  explanation  of  the 
affair,  is  thus  related  by  the  noted  preacher  and 
author,  Edward  Eggleston  : 

"He  started  for  '  Old  Abe's  '  office  ;  but  bursting 
open  the  door  impulsively,  found  a  stranger  in  con 
versation  with  Mr.  Lincoln.  He  turned  to  retrace 
his  steps,  when  Lincoln  called  out,  '  Jim  !  What  do 
you  want  ?'  'Nothing.'  '  Yes,  you  do  ;  come  back.' 


282  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN: 

After  some  entreaty  Jim  approached  Mr.  Lincoln, 
and  remarked,  with  a  twinkle  in  his  eye,  '  Well 
Abe,  I  see  you  have  been  making  a  speech  to  Sunday- 
school  children.  What's  the  matter  ?'  '  Sit  down. 
Jim,  and  I'll  tell  you  all  about  it.'  And  with  that 
Lincoln  put  his  feet  on  the  stove  and  began  :  '  When 
Sunday  morning  came,  I  didn't  know  exactly  what 
to  do.  Washburne  asked  me  where  I  was  going.  I 
told  him  I  had  nowhere  to  go  ;  and  he  proposed  to 
take  me  down  to  the  Five  Points  Sunday-school,  to 
show  me  something  worth  seeing.  I  was  very  much 
interested  by  what  I  saw.  Presently,  Mr.  Pease 
came  up  and  spoke  to  Mr.  Washburne,  who  intro 
duced  me.  Mr.  Pease  wanted  us  to  speak.  Wash 
burne  spoke,  and  then  I  was  urged  to  speak.  I  told 
them  I  did  not  know  anything  about  talking  to  Sun 
day-schools,  but  Mr.  Pease  said  many  of  the  children 
were  friendless  and  homeless,  and  that  a  few  words 
would  do  them  good.  Washburne  said  I  must  talk. 
And  so  I  rose  to  speak ;  but  I  tell  you,  Jim,  I  didn't 
know  what  to  say.  I  remembered  that  Mr.  Pease 
said  that  they  were  homeless  and  friendless,  and  I 
thought  of  the  time  when  I  had  been  pinched  by 
terrible  poverty.  And  so  I  told  them  that  I  had 
been  poor ;  that  I  remembered  when  my  toes  stuck 
out  through  my  broken  shoes  in  winter  ;  when  my 
arms  were  out  at  the  elbows  ;  when  I  shivered  with 
.the  cold.  And  I  told  them  there  was  only  one  rule. 


WAS   HE   A    CHRISTIAN?  283 

That  was,  always  do  the  very  best  you  can.  I  told 
them  that  I  had  always  tried  to  do  the  very  best  I 
could  ;  and  that,  if  they  would  follow  that  rule,  they 
would  get  along  somehow.  That  was  about 
what  I  said  '  "  (E very-Day  Life  of  Lincoln,  pp.  322, 
323). 

The  foregoing  is  significant.  Lincoln  was  not  an 
advocate  of  Sunday-schools.  He  had  probably  never 
visited  one  before.  As  generally  conducted,  he  re 
garded  them  as  simply  nurseries  of  superstition. 
He  could  not  indorse  the  religious  ideas  taught  in 
them,  and  he  was  not  there  that  day  to  antagonize 
them.  As  a  consequence,  this  ready  talker — this 
man  who  had  been  making  speeches  all  his  life- 
was,  for  the  first  time,  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  say. 
He  could  not  talk  to  them  about  the  Bible — he  could 
not  tell  them  that  "it  is  the  best  gift  which  God 
has  given  to  man  " — that  "  all  the  good  from  the 
Savior  of  the  world  is  communicated  to  us  through 
this  book  " — that  "  but  for  this  book  we  could  not 
know  right  from  wrong  " — he  could  not  tell  them 
how  Jesus  had  died  for  little  children,  and  all  this, 
because  he  did  not  believe  it.  But  he  obeyed  his 
own  life-long  rule,  did  the  best  he  could  under  the 
embarrassing  circumstances,  and  gave  them  a  little 
wholesome  advice  entirely  free  from  the  usual  Sun 
day-school  cant. 


284  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 

REV.  ROBERT  COLLYER. 

Robert  Collyer  states  that  Lincoln,  just  before  ho 
was  elected  President,  visited  the  office  of  the 
Chicago  Tribune,  and  picking  up  a  volume  of  Theo 
dore  Parker's  writings,  turned  to  Dr.  Ray  and  re 
marked:  "  I  think  that  I  stand  about  where  that  maL 
stands." 

ALLEN    THORNDIKE  RICE. 

The  lamented  Allen  Thorndike  Rice,  whose 
brilliant  editorial  management  of  the  North  Atnrriccu, 
Review  has  placed  this  periodical  in  the  front  rank 
of  American  magazines,  in  his  Introduction  to  the 
"  Reminiscences  of  Lincoln,"  says  : 

"  The  Western  settlers  had  no  respect  for  English 
traditions,  whether  of  Church  or  of  State.  Accus 
tomed  all  their  lives  to  grapple  with  nature  face  to 
face,  they  thought  and  they  spoke,  with  all  the  bold 
ness  of  unrestrained  sincerity,  on  every  topic  of 
human  interest  or  of  sacred  memory,  without  the 
slightest  recognition  of  any  right  of  external  author 
ity  to  impose  restrictions,  or  even  to  be  heard  in 
protest  against  their  intellectual  independence.  As 
their  life  developed  the  utmost  independence  of 
creed  and  individuality,  he  whose  originality  was 
the  most  fearless  and  self-contained  was  chief  among 
them.  Among  such  a  people,  blood  of  their  blood 
and  bone  of  their  bone,  differing  from  them  only  in 


WAS   HE   A  CHRISTIAN?  285 

stature,  Abraham  Lincoln  arose  to  rule  the  American 
people  with  a  more  than  kingly  power,  and  received 
from  them  a  more  than  feudal  loyalty." 

So  eager  is  the  church  for  proofs  of  Lincoln's 
piety  that  the  most  incredible  anonymous  story  in 
support  of  this  claim  is  readily  accepted  and  pub 
lished  by  the  religious  press  as  authentic  history. 
By  this  means  the  masses  have  gradually  come  to 
regard  Lincoln  as  a  devout  Christian.  It  is  evident 
that  Mr.  Eice  had  these  fabulous  tales  in  mind  when 
be  wrote  the  following : 

"  Story  after  story  and  trait  after  trait,  as  varying 
in  value  as  in  authenticity,  has  been  added  to  the 
Lincolniana,  until  at  last  the  name  of  the  great  war 
President  has  come  to  be  a  biographic  lodestone, 
attracting  without  distinction  or  discrimination  both 
the  true  and  the  false." 

ROBERT   C.   ADAMS. 

The  noted  author,  Capt.  Eobert  C  Adams,  of 
Montreal,  Can.,  says : 

"  It  is  significant  that  in  political  revolution  it  is 
the  Freethinker  who  is  usually  the  leader.  Franklin, 
Paine,  Jefferson,  Washington,  were  the  chief  found 
ers  of  the  American  Republic,  and  Lincoln  presided 
at  its  second  birth.  Mazzini  and  Garibaldi  are  the 
heroes  of  United  Italy;  Eousseau,Voltaire,  and  Victor 
Hugo  have  been  the  chief  inspirers  of  Democratic 
France  "  (New  Ideal}. 


286  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

THEODORE    STAN  TON 

In  the  Westminster  Review  for  September,  1891, 
Mr.  Stanton  had  an  article  discussing  the  moral 
character  and  religious  belief  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
Of  his  religious  belief,  he  says  : 

"  If  Lincoln  had  lived  and  died  an  obscure  Spring 
field  lawyer  and  politician  lie  would  unquestionably 
have  been  classed  by  his  neighbors  among  Free 
thinkers.  But,  as  is  customary  with  the  church, 
whether  Roman  Catholic  or  Protestant,  when  Lin 
coln  became  oue  of  the  great  of  the  world  an  attempt 
was  made  to  claim  him.  In  trying  to  arrive  at  a 
correct  comprehension  of  Lincoln's  theology  this 
fact  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  sifting  the  testi 
mony. 

"  Another  very  important  warping  influence  which 
should  not  be  lost  sight  of  was  Lincoln's  early  am 
bition  for  political  preferment.  Now,  the  shrewd 
American  politician  with  an  elastic  conscience  joins 
some  church,  and  is  always  seen  on  Sunday  in  the 
front  pews.  But  the  shrewd  politician  who  has  not 
an  elastic  conscience — and  this  was  Lincoln's  case- 
simply  keeps  mum  on  his  religious  views,  or,  when 
he  must  touch  on  the  subject,  deals  only  in 
platitudes." 

After  citing  the  testimony  of  many  of  Lincoln's 
friends,  Mr.  Stanton  concludes  : 


WAS   HE  A   CHRISTIAN?  287 

"A  man  about  whose  theology  such  things  can  be 
said  is  of  course  far  removed  from  orthodoxy.  It 
may  even  be  questioned  whether  he  is  a  Theist, 
whether  he  is  a  Deist.  That  he  is  a  Freethinker  is 
evident ;  that  he  is  an  Agnostic  is  probable." 

GEO.  M.  K.CRIC. 

In  the  Open  Court  for  Nov.  26,  1891,  Mr.  McCrie 
contributes  an  article  on  "  What  Was  Abraham 
Lincoln's  Creed?"  Concerning  Lincoln's  allusions 
to  God,  lie  says : 

"  A  Deity  thus  shelved  or  not  shelved,  according 
to  the  dictates  of  political  expediency,  or  of  individ 
ual  opinion  as  to  the  '  propriety  '  of  either  course  is 
no  Deity  at  all.  He  is  as  fictional  as  the  'John 
Doe  '  or  *  Richard  Roe  '  of  a  legal  writ,  and  anyone 
making  use  of  such  a  creation — the  puppet,  not  the 
parent,  of  his  own  Egoity — is  supposed  to  know 
with  what  he  is  dealing.  Orthodox  religionism  may 
well  despair  of  Abraham  Lincoln  as  of  George 
Washington,  Benjamin  Franklin,  or  President 
Jefferson." 

GEN.  M.  M.    TRUMBULL. 

Gen.  Trumbull,  of  Chicago,  in  the  Open  Court  of 
Dec.  3,  1891,  writes  : 

"  The  religion  that  begs  the  patronage  of  presi 
dents  doubts  its  own  theology,  for  the  true  God 


288  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

needs  not  the  favor  of  men.  .  .  .  Some  of  his 
[Lincoln's]  tributes  to  Deity  are  merely  rhetorical 
emphasis,  but  others  were  not.  Cicero  often  swor>3 
'By  Hercules,'  as  in  the  oration  against  Catiline,  al 
though  he  believed  no  more  in  Hercules  than  Abra 
ham  Lincoln  believed  in  any  church-made  God." 

REV.  DAVID    SWING,  D.D. 

In  a  sermon  on  "  Washington  and  Lincoln,"  the 
most  eminent  and  popular  divine  of  Chicago,  Dr. 
Swing,  said  : 

"  It  is  often  lamented  by  the  churchmen  thai 
Washington  and  Lincoln  possessed  little  religion 
except  that  found  in  the  word  'God.'  All  that  can 
here  be  affirmed  is  that  what  the  religion  of  those 
two  men  lacked  in  theological  details  it  made  up  in 
greatness.  Their  minds  were  born  with  a  love  of 
great  principles.  .  .  .  There  are  few  instances 
in  which  a  mind  great  enough  to  reach  great 
principles  in  politics  has  been  satisfied  with  a 
fanatical  religion.  ...  It  must  not  be  asked 
for  Washington  and  Lincoln  that,  having  reached 
greatness  in  political  principles,  they  should  have 
loved  littleness  in  piety." 

REV.  JENKIN   LLOYD   JONES. 

The  Rev.  J.  Lloyd  Jones,  one  of  Chicago's  most 
eloquent  divines,  in  a  sermon  preached  in  All  Souls 


WAS   HE  A   CHRISTIAN?  289 

Church,  Dec.  9,  1888,  gave  utterance   to  the  follow 
ing : 

"Are  there  not  thousands  who  have  loved  virtue 
who  did  not  accept  Jesus  Christ  in  any  supernatural 
or  miraculous  fashion,  who  if  they  knew  of  him  at 
all  knew  of  him  only  as  the  Nazarine  peasant — the 
man  Jesus  ?  Such  was  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  tender 
prophet  of  the  gospel  of  good  will  upon  earth ; 
Charles  Surnner,  the  great  apostle  of  human  liberty  ; 
Gerrit  Smith,  the  St.  John  of  political  reform ; 
William  Ellery  Channing,  our  sainted  preacher ; 
Theodore  Parker,  the  American  Luther,  hurling 
his  defiance  at  the  devils  of  bigotry  ;  John  Stuart 
Mill  and  Harriet  Martineau — yes,  to  take  an  ex 
treme  case,  the  genial  and  over-satirical  Robert  G. 
Ingersoll,  are  among  those  who  love  goodness  and 
foster  nobility,  though  they  have  no  clear  vision 
into  futurity  and  confess  no  other  lordship  in  him  of 
Nazareth  save  the  dignity  of  aim  and  tenderness  of 
life." 

REV.  JOHN    W.  CHADWICK. 

In  an  address  delivered  in  Tremont  Temple,  Bos 
ton,  May  30,  1872,  the  Rev.  John  W.  Chadwick,  of 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  referring  to  the  proposed  religious 
amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
said  : 

"  Of  the  six  men   who  have  done  most  to  make 


290  ABIUHAM  LINCOLN: 

America  the  wonder  and  the  joy  she  is  to  all  of  u«, 
not  one  could  be  the  citizen  of  a  government  so  con 
stituted  ;  for  Washington  and  Franklin  and  Jeffer 
son,  certainly  the  three  mightiest  leaders  in  our 
early  history,  were  heretics  in  their  day,  Deists,  as 
men  called  them ;  and  Garrison  and  Lincoln  and 
Sumner,  certainly  the  three  mightiest  in  these  later 
times,  would  all  be  disfranchised  by  the  proposed 
amendment. 

'•  Lincoln  could    not  have  taken  the  oath  of  office 
had  such  a  clause  been  in  tho  Constitution." 


WAS   HE  A   CHRISTIAN?  291 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

EVIDENCE     GATHERED    FROM     LINCOLN'S     LETTERS, 
SPEECHES,   AND   CONVERSATIONS. 

The  Bible  and  Christianity — Christ's  Divinity — Future  Rewards  and 
Punishments — Freedom  of  Mind — Fatalism — Providence — Lines  in 
Copy-book— Parker — Paine — Opposition  of  Church — Clerical  Officious- 
ness  Rebuked — Irreverent  Jokes — Profanity — Temperance  Reform — In 
dorsement  of  Lord  Bolingbroke's  Writings — Golden  Rule. 

THE  testimony  of  one  hundred  witnesses  will  now 
be  supplemented  by  evidence  from  the  tongue  and 
pen  of  Lincoln  himself.  The  greater  portion  of  what 
he  wrote  and  uttered  against  Christianity  has 
perished ;  but  enough  has  been  preserved  to  dem 
onstrate,  even  in  the  absence  of  other  evidence, 
that  he  was  not  a  Christian.  From  his  letters, 
speeches,  and  recorded  conversations,  the  following 
radical  sentiments  have  been  extracted. 

Notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  Holland  and  Bate- 
man  to  prove  that  Lincoln  was  a  believer  in  Chris 
tianity,  it  is  admitted  that  in  his  conversation  with 
Bate  man,  he  said  : 

"  I  am  not  a  Christian  "  (Holland's  Life  of  Lincoln, 
pp.  236,  237). 


292  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN! 

When  his  Christian  friends  at  Petersburg  inter 
fered  to  prevent  his  proposed  duel  with  Shields,  and 
told  him  that  it  was  contrary  to  the  teachings  of  the 
Bible  and  Christianity,  he  remarked : 

"  The  Bible  is  not  my  book,  nor  Christianity  my 
profession  "  (Letter  of  W.  Perkins). 

While  at  Washington,  in  a  letter  to  his  old  friend, 
Judge  Wakefield,  written  in  1862,  in  answer  to  inqui 
ries  respecting  his  belief  and  the  expressed  hope 
that  lie  had  become  convinced  of  the  truth  of  Chris 
tianity,  he  replied  as  follows  : 

"  My  earlier  views  of  the  unsoundness  of  the 
Christian  scheme  of  salvation  and  the  human  origin 
of  the  Scriptures  have  become  clearer  and  stronger 
with  advancing  years  and  I  see  no  reason  for  think 
ing  I  shall  ever  change  them." 

In  a  discussion  touching  upon  the  paternity  of 
Jesus,  he  said : 

'•  There  must  have  been  sexual  intercourse  between 
man  and  woman,  and  not  between  God  and  his 
daughter." 

The  above  words  were  uttered  in  the  presence  of 
Mr.  Green  Caruthers  and  Mr.  W.  A.  Browning,  of 
Springfield. 

Lincoln  contended  that  Jesus  was  either  the  son 
of  Joseph  and  Mary,  or  the  illegitimate  son  of 
Mary. 

In   a   conversation  with   his   friend,   Mr.    E.    H. 


WAS    HE   A    CHRISTIAN  ?    ,  293 

Wood,  of  Springfield,  concerning  the  doctrine  of  end 
less  punishment,  he  said  : 

"  There  is  no  hell." 

In  regard  to  this  subject,  he  often  observed : 
ir±llf  God  be  n  just  God,  all  will  be  saved  or  none  " 
(ManforcTs  Magazine). 

The  orthodox  idea  of  God — a  God  that  creates 
poor,  fallible  beings,  and  then  forever  damns  them 
for  failing  to  believe  what  it  is  impossible  for  them 
to  believe — he  abhorred.  The  Golden  Rule  was  his 
moral  standard,  and  by  this  standard  he  measured 
not  only  the  conduct  of  man,  but  of  God  himself. 
Like  thp  irrepressible  Dr.  T.  L.  Brown,  he  wanted 
God  to  "  damn  others  as  he  would  be  damned  him 
self."  He  delighted  to  repeat  the  epitaph  of  the  old 
Kickapoo  Indian,  Johnnie  Kongapod : 

"  Here  lies  poor  Johnnie  Kongapod; 
Have  mercy  on  him,  gracious  God, 
As  he  would  do  if  he  were  God 
And  you  were  Johnnie  Kongapod." 

Lincoln  thought  that  God  ought  at  least  to  be  as 
merciful  as  a  respectable  savage. 

Many  contend  that  the  doctrine  of  future  rewards 
and  punishments,  even  if  untrue,  has  a  restraining 
influence  upon  the  masses  of  mankind.  That  Lin 
coln  did  not  share  this  fallacious  opinion,  is  shown 
by  the  following  extract  from  an  address  delivered 
in  Springfield  in  1842  : 


294  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  I 

"  Pleasures  to  be  enjoyed,  or  pains  to  be  endured, 
after  we  shall  be  dead  and  gone,  are  but  little  re 
garded.  .  .  .  There  is  something  so  ludicrous, 
in  promises  of  good,  or  threats  of  evil,  a  great  way 
off,  as  to  render  the  whole  subject  with  which  they 
are  connected,  easily  turned  into  ridicule.  '  Better 
lay  down  that  spade  you're  stealing,  Paddy — if  you 
don't,  you'll  pay  for  it  at  the  Day  of  Judgment.' 
'  Be  the  powers,  if  ye'll  credit  me  so  long  I'll  take 
another '  "  (Lincoln  Memorial  Album,  p.  91). 

Commenting  upon  the  question  of  one's  returning 
and  communicating  with  his  friends  after  death,  he 
observed : 

"  It  is  a  doubtful  question  whether  we  ever  get 
anywhere  to  get  back  "  (Statement  of  E.  H.  Wood). 

He  did  not  believe  in  the  freedom  of  the  will. 
An  observation  which  he  repeatedly  made  was  the 
following : 

"  No  man  has  a  freedom  of  mind  "  (Testimony  of 
W.  H.  Herndon). 

His  fatalistic  notions  are  confirmed  by  his  own 
wqrds  : 

"  I  have  all  my  life  been  a  fatalist.  What  is  to  be 
will  be ;  or,  rather,  I  have  found  all  my  life,  as 
Hamlet  says : 

1  There's  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends, 
Rough-hew  them  how  we  will.' " 

(Every-Day  Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  198). 


295 

The   following  was  a  favorite    maxim  with  him  : 

"  What  is  to  be  will  be,  and  no  prayers  of  ours  can 
arrest  the  decree  "  (Statement  of  Mrs.  Lincoln). 

In  a  speech  on  Kansas,  delivered  in  1856,  he  used 
the  following  words  in  regard  to  Providence : 

"  Friends,  I  agree  with  you  in  Providence  ;  but  I 
believe  in  the  Providence  of  the  most  men,  the 
largest  purse,  and  the  longest  cannon"  (Lincoln's 
Speeches,  p.  140). 

The  writer  has  in  his  possession,  among  others  of 
Lincoln's  papers,  a  leaf  from  his  copybook,  tattered 
and  yellow  from  age,  on  which,  seventy  years  ago, 
Lincoln,  a  school-boy  of  fourteen,  wrote  the  follow 
ing  characteristic  lines : 

• 

"Abraham  Lincoln,  his  hand  and  pen; 
He  will  be  good,  but  God  knows  when." 

If  by  good  he  meant  pious,  the  prophecy  was  never 
fulfilled. 

But  a  short  time  before  he  was  elected  President, 
he  said  to  Dr.  Ray  : 

"  I  think  that  I  stand  about  where  that  man  [Theo 
dore  Parker]  stands"  (Statement  of  Eev.  Kobert 
Collyer). 

The  author  whose  writings  exerted  the  greatest 
influence  upon  Lincoln's  mind,  in  a  theological  way, 
was  Thomas  Paine.  Ah!  that  potential  "Age  of 
Reason !  "  Criticise  it  as  you  may,  no  one  ever  yet 


296  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

carefully  perused  its  pages  and  then  honestly  affirmed 
that  the  Bible  is  the  infallible  word  of  God.  Hern- 
don  and  others  declare  that  Paine  was  a  part  of 
Lincoln  from  1834  till  his  death.  To  a  friend  he 
said  : 

"  I  never  tire  of  reading  Paine "  (Statement  of 
James  Tuttle). 

In  the  later  years  of  his  life,  when  the  subject  of 
religion  was  mentioned,  with  a  knowing  smile,  ho 
was  wont  to  remark  : 

*'It  will  not  do  to  investigate  the  subject  of  relig 
ion  too  closely,  as  it  is  apt  to  lead  to  Infidelity" 
(Manford's  Magazine). 

It  has  been  stated  that  Lincoln  was  opposed  in 
his  political  campaigns  on  account  of  his  disbelief. 
This  is  confirmed  by  a  letter  he  wrote  to  Martin  M. 
Morris,  of  Petersburg,  111.,  March  26, 1843.  In  this 
letter,  he  says : 

"  There  was,  too,  the  strangest  combination  of 
church  influence  against  me.  Baker  is  a  Campbell- 
ite ;  and  therefore,  as  I  suppose,  with  few  exceptions, 
got  all  that  church.  My  wife  has  some  relatives  in 
the  Presbyterian  churches,  and  some  with  the  Epis 
copal  churches  ;  and  therefore,  wherever  it  would 
tell,  I  was  set  down  as  either  the  one  or  the  other, 
while  it  was  everywhere  contended  that  no  Christian 
ought  to  go  for  me,  because  I  belonged  to  no  church 
— was  suspected  of  being  a  Deist.  .  .  .  Those 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  297 

influences  levied  a  tax  of  a  considerable  per  cent  upon 
my  strength  throughout  the  religious  controversy  " 
(Lamon's  Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  271). 

He  never  changed  his  opinions,  and  the  church 
never  ceased  to  oppose  him.  In  the  Bateman  inter 
view,  seventeen  years  later,  he  was  compelled  to  note 
its  relentless  intolerance : 

"  Here  are  twent}'-three  ministers  of  different  de 
nominations,  and  all  of  them  are  against  me  but 
three  ;  and  here  are  a  great  many  prominent  mem 
bers  of  the  churches,  a  very  large  majority  of  whom 
are  against  me  "  (Holland's  Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  236). 

For  thirty  years  the  church  endeavored  to  crush 
Lincoln,  but  when,  in  spite  of  her  malignant  opposi 
tion,  he  achieved  a  glorious  immortality,  this  same 
church,  to  hide  the  mediocrity  of  her  devotees,  at 
tempts  to  steal  his  deathless  name. 

In  a  speech  delivered  in  Springfield,  in  1857, 
alluding  to  the  negro,  he  said  : 

"  All  the  powers  of  the  earth  seem  rapidly  combin 
ing  against  him.  Mammon  is  after  him,  .  .  . 
and  the  theology  of  the  day  is  fast  joining  in  the 
cry"  (Lincoln  Memorial  Album,  p.  100). 

The  theology  of  the  day  was  orthodox  Christian- 
ity.  "  In  this  sentence,"  says  Mr.  Herndon,  "  he  in 
tended  to  hit  Christianity  a  left-handed  blow,  and  a 
hard  one." 

In  his  Second  Inaugural  address,  referring  to  the 


298  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  I 

contending  Christian  elements  in  the  civil  war,  ho 
says: 

"  Both  read  the  same  Bible  and  pray  to  the   samo 
God,  and  each  invokes  Ins  aid  against  the  other." 
.     What  a  commentary  upon  the  hypocritical  assump 
tion    that   Christians    possess    an    infallible     moral 
i  standard,  is  contained  in  the  above  words  ! 

The  "  Lincoln  Memorial  Album  "  pretends  to  give 
the  Second  Inaugural  complete,  but  omits  the  words 
quoted.  As  this  address  comes  almost  immediately 
after  his  reputed  speech  to  the  "  Illinois  clergyman," 
the  editor  probably  noticed  a  lack  of  harmony  be 
tween  the  two,  and  thought  that  the  retention  oi 
these  heretical  words  would  cast  suspicion  upon  the 
genuineness  of  that  remarkable  confession.  The 
"Memorial  Album  "  is  a  meritorious  work,  but  had 
Mr.  Oldroyd  manifested  as  great  a  desire  to  present 
the  genuine  utterances  of  Lincoln  as  the  apocryphal, 
its  value  would  have  been  enhanced.  The  unmuti- 
lated  version  of  the  last  Inaugural  mnj  be  found  in 
Holland's  "  Life  of  Lincoln,"  pp.  503,  504  ;  Arnold's 
"  Life  of  Lincoln,"  pp.  403,  404  ;  Arnold's  "  Lincoln 
and  Slavery,"  pp.  625-627  ;  and  "  The  Every-Day 
Life  of  Lincoln,"  pp.  681,  682. 

No  President,  probably,  was  ever  so  much  annoyed 
by  the  clergy  as  Lincoln.  The  war  produced  an  in 
creased  religious  fervor,  and  theological  tramps  in 
numerable,  usually  labeled  "  D.  D.,"  visited  the 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  299 

White  House,  each  with  a  mission  to  perform  and  a 
precious  morsel  of  advice  to  offer.  In  the  following 
caustic  words,  he  expresses  his  contempt  for  their 
officiousness  : 

"  I  am  approached  with  the  most  opposite  opinions 
and  advice,  and  by  religious  men  who  are  certain 
they  represent  the  Divine  will.  ...  I  hope  it 
will  not  be  irreverent  in  me  to  say,  that  if  it  be 
probable  that  God  would  reveal  his  will  to  others, 
on  a  point  so  connected  with  my  duty,  it  might  be 
supposed  he  would  reveal  it  directly  to  me  "  (Kelig- 
ious  Convictions  of  Abraham  Lincoln). 

Equally  pertinent,  and,  indeed,  similar  was  his 
language  to  a  pious  lady,  a  Friend,  who  came  as 
God's  agent  to  instruct  him  what  to  do  : 

"  I  have  neither  time  nor  disposition  to  enter  into 
discussion  with  the  Friend,  and  end  this  occasion 
by  suggesting  for  her  consideration  the  question, 
whether,  if  it  be  true  that  the  Lord  has  appointed 
me  [she  claimed  that  he  had]  to  do  the  works  she 
has  indicated,  it  is  not  probable  that  he  would  have 
communicated  knowledge  of  the  fact  to  me  as  well 
as  to  her?"  (E very-Day  Life  of  Lincoln,  pp.  536, 
537). 

He  steadily  prohibited  his  generals  from  meddling 
with  the  religious  affairs  of  those  residing  within  the 
limits  of  their  respective  departments,  and  at  the 
same  time  counseled  them  not  to  permit  the 


300  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  I 

tended   sanctity  of   the  church  to  shield  offenders 
from  justice. 

In  a  letter  to  General  Curtis,  censuring  the  pro 
vost  marshal  of  St.  Louis  for  interfering  with  church 
matters,  he  writes  : 

"  The  United  States  Government  must  not  under 
take  to  run  the  churches.  When  an  individual  in 
a  church,  or  out  of  it,  becomes  dangerous  to  the 
public  interest  he  must  be  checked "  (Nicolay  and 
Hay's  Life  of  Lincoln). 

In  an  order  relating  to  a  church  in  Memphis 
issued  May  13,  1864,  he  said  : 

"  If  there  be  no  military  need  for  the  building, 
leave  it  alone,  neither  putting  any  one  in  or  out  oi 
it,  except  on  finding  some  one  preaching  or  practic 
ing  treason,  in  which  case  lay  hands  upon  him,  just 
as  if  he  were  doing  the  same  thing  in  any  other 
building"  (Ibid). 

During  the  war  his  attention  was  called  to  the 
notoriously  bad  character  of  army  chaplains.  He 
expressed  his  contempt  for  them,  and  for  orthodox 
preachers  generally,  by  relating  the  following  story : 

"  Once,  in  Springfield,  I  was  going  off  on  a  short 
journey,  and  reached  the  depot  a  little  ahead  of 
time.  Leaning  against  the  fence  just  outside  the 
depot  was  a  little  darky  boy,  whom  I  knew,  named 
Dick,  busily  digging  with  his  toe  in  a  mud-puddle. 
As  I  came  up,  I  said,  '  Dick,  what  are  you  about  ? 


WAS   HE  A  CHRISTIAN?  301 

'  Making  a  church,'  said  he.  '  A  church  ?'  said  I ; 
'  what  do  you  mean?'  '  Why,  yes,'  said  Dick,  point 
ing  with  his  toe,  '  don't  you  see  ?  there  is  the  shape 
of  it ;  there's  the  steps  and  front  door — here's  the 
pews,  where  the  folks  set — and  there's  the  pulpit.' 
*  Yes,  I  see,'  said  I,  *  but  why  don't  you  make  a 
minister  ?'  *  Laws,'  answered  Dick,  with  a  grin,  '  I 
hain't  got  mud  enough  '  "  (Anecdotes  of  Lincoln,  p. 
86). 

The  most  highly  aristocratic  church  in  Washing 
ton  is  St.  John's  Episcopal  church.  So  very  aristo 
cratic  is  it  that  applicants  for  membership  deem  it 
necessary  to  give  references  respecting  their  social  \ 
standing  in  the  community.  The  New  York  Star 
relates  the  following  joke  which  Lincoln  once  perpe 
trated  at  the  expense  of  this  church  : 

"  One  day  during  the  war  a  young  officer  called  on 
him  to  secure  an  appointment  in  the  army,  and 
brought  with  him  letters  of  recommendation  signed 
by  the  F.  F.  V.'s  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  There 
had  been  no  application  for  office  before  President 
Lincoln  so  strongly  supported  by  the  aristocracy, 
and,  turning  to  the  young  man,  he  said  he  would 
give  him  the  appointment  and  handed  him  back  the 
papers.  '  Don't  you  want  to  place  the  papers  on 
file  ?'  asked  the  office-seeker.  '  I  supposed  that  was 
the  custom.'  '  Yes,  that  is  the  custom,'  said  Presi 
dent  Lincoln,  'but  you  had  better  take  them 


302  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

with   you,    as   you    might  want  to   join   St.  John's 
church.'  " 

Did  Lincoln  ever  use  profane  language  ?  If  he 
did,  this  fact  will  afford  no  evidence  to  Freethinkers 
that  he  was  a  disbeliever  in  Christianity.  Free 
thinkers  are  as  free  from  this  vice,  if  vice  it  be,  as 
Christians.  Very  pious  persons,  however,  such  as 
Lincoln  is  represented  to  have  been  by  his  Christian 
biographers,  are  very  careful  about  their  use  of  pro 
fane  words.  Christ  commanded  his  followers  to 
prav  in  private,  and  bade  them  swear  not  at  all. 
Devout  Christians  usually  pray  in  public  and  swear 
in  private.  Lincoln  was  but  little  addicted  to  pro 
fanity,  but  if  he  had  occasion  to  use  a  word  of  this 
character  he  did  not  go  to  his  closet  to  use  it.  In  a 
business  letter  to  a  friend,  he  said  : 

"Ad d  hawk-billed  Yankee  is  here  besetting 

me  at  every  turn  "  (Lamon's  Life  of  Lincoln,  p.  316). 

In  a  letter  to  Speed,  concerning  an  alleged  murder 
case,  he  wrote  : 

"  Hart,  the  little  drayman  that  hauled  Molly 
home  once,  said  it  was  too  damned  bad  to  have  so 
much  trouble  and  no  hanging  "  (Ibid,  p.  321). 

For  the  sake  of  pleasing  the  "fools,"  he  attached 
his  signature  to  "  the  pious  nonsense  of  Seward." 
With  equal  readiness  he  indorsed  the  profane  non 
sense  (?)  of  Stanton.  During  the  war  the  patriotic 
Lovejoy  had  devised  a  military  scheme  which  he 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  303 

believed  would  prove  beneficial  to  the  Union  cause, 
and  obtained  an  order  from  the  President  for  its 
execution.  He  took  the  order  to  Stanton,  but  all 
that  ever  resulted  from  it  was  the  following  spirited 
colloquy  : 

"  *  Did  Lincoln  give  you  an  order  of  that  kind  ?' 

said  Stanton.  *  He  did,  sir.'  '  Then  he  is  a  d d 

fool,'  said  the  irate  Secretary.  *  Do  you  mean  to 

say  the  President  is  a  d d  fool  ?'  asked  Lovejoy, 

in  amazement.  *  Yes,  sir,  if  he  gave  you  such  an 
order  as  that.'  The  bewildered  Illinoisan  betook 
himself  at  once  to  the  President,  and  related  the 
result  of  his  conference.  "  Did  Stanton  say  I  was  a 

d d  fool  ?'  asked  Lincoln  at  the  close  of  the 

recital.  '  He  did,  sir,  and  repeated  it.'  After  a 
moment's  pause,  and  looking  up,  the  President  said  : 

'  If  Stanton  said  I  was  a  d d  fool,  then  I  must  be 

one,  for  he  is  nearly  always  right,  and  generally  says 
what  he  means  ' "  (Every-Day  Life  of  Lincoln,  pp. 
483,  484). 

At  a  Cabinet  meeting,  in  1863,  when  a  conflict 
between  the  President  and  Congress  regarding  the 
admission  of  certain  representatives  from  loyal  dis 
tricts  of  the  South,  which  he  favored,  was  threat 
ened,  he  turned  to  Secretary  Chase,  and  exclaimed  : 

"  There  it  is,  sir.  I  am  to  be  bullied  by  Congress, 
am  I  ?  If  I  do  I'll  be  d d  !" 

When  Lincoln  visited  New  Orleans  he  attended  a 


304  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

slave  sale.  A  beautiful  girl,  almost  white,  was  placed 
upon  the  auction  block  and  exposed  to  the  grossest 
indignities.  As  he  turned  to  leave,  boiling  with 
indignation,  he  exclaimed : 

"  By  God,  if  I  ever  get  a  chance  to  hit  that  insti 
tution,  I  will  hit  it  hard  "  (Arnold's  Life  of  Lincoln, 
Note). 

Thirty  years  later  the  chance  came.  He  struck 
the  blow — a  mortal  one. 

The  following  is  a  prayer  which  Lincoln,  while  at 
the  White  House,  put  into  the  mouth  of  a  belated 
traveler  who  was  caught  in  a  violent  thunder 
storm  : 

"  O  Lord,  if  it  is  all  the  same  to  you,  give  us  a 
little  more  light  and  a  little  less  noise  !"  (Six  Months 
at  the  White  House,  p.  49). 

Is  it  possible  that  a  Christian  and  a  Calvinist 
would  repeat  such  an  irreverent,  not  to  say  blas 
phemous,  supplication  ?  According  to  the  Brooklyn 
Calvinist,  God  visits  such  supplicants  with  paralysis 
and  petrifaction. 

Like  most  Freethinkers,  Lincoln  was  a  genuine 
reformer.  The  Antislavery  reform  was  not  the  only 
reform  that  enlisted  his  support.  At  an  early  day 
he  espoused  the  Temperance  cause.  When  the 
church  was  the  ally  of  intemperance  as  it  was  of 
slavery — when,  to  use  his  own  words,  "  From  the 
sideboard  of  the  parson  down  to  the  ragged  pocket 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  305 

of  the  houseless  loafer  intoxicating  liquor  was  con 
stantly  found,"  he  was  laboring  and  lecturing  in 
behalf  of  the  Washingtoniau  movement.  With  the 
fervor  of  an  enthusiast,  he  exclaims  in  true  Free- 
thought  language : 

"  Happy  day,  when,  all  appetites  controlled,  all 
passions  subdued,  all  matter  subjugated,  mind,  all- 
conquering  mind,  shall  live  and  move,  the  monarch 
of  the  world  !  Glorious  consummation  !  Hail,  fall 
of  fury  !  Reign  of  Reason,  all  hail  /"  (Lincoln  Me 
morial  Album,  p.  96). 

To  sumptuary  laws  and  to  the  denunciatory 
methods  so  common  among  orthodox  Christians 
to-day,  he  was,  however,  strenuously  opposed.  He 
says: 

"  It  is  not  much  in  the  nature  of  man  to  be  driven 
to  anything  ;  still  less  to  be  driven  about  that  which 
is  exclusively  his  own  business  "  (Ibid,  p.  86). 

"  When  the  conduct  of  men  is  designed  to  be  in 
fluenced,  persuasion,  kind,  unassuming  persuasion, 
should  ever  be  adopted  "  (Ib.,  p.  87). 

His  nephew,  Mr.  Hall,  informed  me  that  Lincoln 
once  made  it  cost  a  meddlesome  clergyman,  of  Coles 
County,  eighty  dollars  for  seizing  and  destroying  a 
quart  of  whisky,  valued  at  twelve  and  a  half  cents, 
and  belonging  to  a  relative  of  theirs, 

In  this  chapter  I  wish  to  present  some  radical 
thoughts,  not  from  the  pen  of  Lincoln  himself,  but 


306  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

which  in  the  work  from  which  they  are  taken  bear 
unmistakable  signs  of  his  approval.  Mr.  D.  W.  C. 
Shattuck,  an  old  and  respected  merchant  of  Way- 
land,  Mich.,  has  in  his  possession  a  book  which  be 
longed  to  Lincoln.  Its  history  is  as  follows  :  Shortly 
after  Lincoln's  election  to  the  Presidency  a  young 
man  from  Springfield,  111.,  and  a  relative  or  intimate 
acquaintance  of  Lincoln's,  came  to  board  with  Mr. 
Shattuck,  who  then  resided  in  Kalamazoo.  Looking 
over  the  contents  of  his  trunk  one  day  the  young 
man  picked  up  a  book  and  at  the  same  time 
remarked  :  "  That  book  belongs  to  Abe  Lincoln.  I 
forgot  to  return  it  to  him  before  leaving  Springfield. 
It  is  his  favorite  book,  and  I  must  not  fail  to  return 
it."  Mr.  Shattuck  expressing  a  desire  to  peruse  the 
work,  it  was  handed  to  him,  and  the  young  man 
being  soon  after  unexpectedly  called  away,  it  was 
forgotten.  It  proved  to  be  a  volume  of  the  writings 
of  Lord  Bolingbroke,  the  great  English  Infidel.  On 
a  fly-leaf  was  the  signature  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  In 
the  work  certain  passages  which  seem  to  have  espe 
cially  impressed  Lincoln  are  marked  with  a  pencil 
and  in  a  manner  peculiar  to  him.  The  following  are 
the  passages  he  marked,  which  I  have  copied  from 
the  book,  and  which  evidently  received  his  unquali 
fied  indorsement : 

"  Abbadie    says    in   his   famous   book,    that    the 
Gospel  of  St.  Matthew  is  cited  by  Clemens  Bishop 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  307 

of  Borne,  a  disciple  of  the  Apostles  ;  that  Barnabas 
cites  it  in  his  epistle  ;  that  Ignatius  and  Poly  carp 
receive  it;  and  that  the  same  Fathers,  that  give 
testimony  for  Matthew,  give  it  likewise  for  Mark. 
Nay,  your  lordship  will  find,  I  believe,  that  the 
present  Bishop  of  London,  in  his  third  pastoral 
letter,  speaks  to  the  same  effect.  I  will  not  trouble 
you  nor  myself  with  any  more  instances  of  the  same 
kind.  Let  this,  which  occurred  to  me  as  I  was  writ 
ing,  suffice.  It  may  well  suffice  ;  for  I  presume  the 
fact  advanced  by  the  minister  and  the  Bishop  is  :i 
mistake.  If  the  Fathers  of  the  First  Century  do 
mention  some  passages  that  are  agreeable  to  what 
we  read  in  our  Evangelists,  will  it  follow  that  these 
Fathers  had  the  same  gospels  before  them  ?  To  say 
so  is  a  manifest  abuse  of  history,  and  quite  inex 
cusable  in  writers  that  knew,  or  should  have  known, 
that  these  Fathers  made  use  of  other  gospels, 
wherein  such  passages  might  be  contained,  or  they 
might  be  preserved  in  unwritten  tradition.  Besides 
which  I  could  almost  venture  to  affirm  that  these 
Fathers  of  the  First  Century  do  not  expressly  name 
the  gospels  we  have  of  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and 
John." 

''Writers  of  the  Roman  religion  have  attempted  to 
show,  that  the  text  of  the  Holy  Writ  is  on  many  ac 
counts  insufficient  to  be  the  sole  criterion  of  ortho 
doxy  ;  I  apprehend  too  that  they  have  shown  it. 


308  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

Sure  I  am  that  experience,  from  the  first  promulga 
tion  of  Christianity  to  this  hour,  shows  abundantly 
with  how  much  ease  and  success  the  most  opposite , 
the  most  extravagant,  nay  the  most  impious  opinions, 
and  the  most  contradictory  faiths,  may  be  founded 
on  the  same  text ;  and  plausibly  defended  by  tlio 
same  authority.  Writers  of  the  Reformed  religion 
have  erected  their  batteries  against  tradition ;  and 
the  only  difficulty  they  had  to  encounter  in  this 
enterprise  lay  in  leveling  and  pointing  their  cannon 
so  as  to  avoid  demolishing,  in  one  common  ruin,  the- 
traditions  they  retain,  and  those  they  reject.  Eacl: 
side  has  been  employed  to  weaken  the  cause  and  ex 
plode  the  system  of  his  adversary ;  and,  whilst  they 
have  been  so  employed,  they  have  jointly  laid  their 
axes  to  the  root  of  Christianity ;  for  thus  men  will 
be  apt  to  reason  upon  what  they  have  advanced.  '  If 
the  text  has  not  that  authenticity,  clearness,  and 
precision  which  are  necessary  to  establish  it  as  a 
divine  and  a  certain  rule  of  faith  and  practice  ;  and 
if  the  tradition  of  the  church  from  the  first  ages  of  it 
till  the  days  of  Luther  and  Calvin,  has  been 
corrupted  itself,  and  has  served  to  corrupt  the  faith 
and  practice  of  Christians  ;  there  remains  at  this  time 
no  standard  at  all  of  Christianity.  By  consequence 
either  this  religion  was  not  originally  of  divine  in 
stitution,  or  else  God  has  not  provided  effectually  for 
-j\  preserving  the  genuine  purity  of  it,  and  the  gates  of 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  309 

hell  have  prevailed,  in  contradiction  to  his  promise, 
against  the  church.' ' 

"  I  have  read  somewhere,  perhaps  in  the  works  of 
St.  Jerome,  that  this  Father  justifies  the  opinion  of 
those  who  think  it  impossible  to  fix  any  certain 
chronology  on  that  of  the  Bible  ;  and  this  opinion 
will  be  justified  still  better,  to  the  understanding  of 
every  man  that  considers  how  grossly  the  Jews 
blunder  whenever  they  meddle  with  chronology." 

"  The  resurrection  of  letters  was  a  fatal  period  ;  the 
Christian  system  has  been  attacked,  and  wounded 
too,  very  severely  since  that  time." 

When  interrogated  as  to  why  he  had  never  united 
with  any  church,  Lincoln  replied  : 

"  When  you  show  me  a  church  based  on  the  Golden\ 
Rule  as  its  only  creed,  then  I  will  unite  with  it." 

He  never  joined  a  church,  because  of  all  the  Chris 
tian  sects,  not  one  could  show  such  a  creed.  The 
Golden  Rule — conceding  to  others  the  same  rights 
he  claimed  for  himself — was,  however,  the  very 
cornerstone  of  Freethought,  and  hence  he  remained 
a  Freethinker. 


310  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 


CHAPTER    XV. 

RECAPITULATION  AND  CONCLUSION. 

Character  of  Christian  Testimony — Summary  of  Evidence  Adduced 
in  Proof  of  Lincoln's  Unbelief —  ouglas  an  Unbeliever — Theodo-e 
Parker's  Theology — Fallacy  of  Claims  Respecting  Lincoln's  Reputed 
Conversion — His  Invocations  of  Deity — His  Alleged  Regard  for  the 
Sabbath — The  Church  and  Hypocrisy — Lincoln's  Religion. 

IN  the  prosecution  of  this  inquiry,  the  testimony 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  witnesses  has  been  pre 
sented.  The  testimony  of  twenty  of  these  witnesses 
is  to  the  effect  that  Lincoln  was  a  Christian ;  the 
testimony  of  one  hundred  is  to  the  effect  that  he  was 
not. 

Of  those  who  have  testified  in  support  of  the  claim 
that  Lincoln  was  a  Christian,  ten  admit  that  during 
a  part  of  his  life  he  was  a  disbeliever  in  Christianity, 
while  not  one  of  the  remaining  ten  disputes  the  fact. 
If  he  never  changed  his  belief  then  he  died  an  unbe 
liever.  Did  he  change  his  belief  and  become  a  con 
vert  to  Christianity  ?  It  devolves  upon  those  who 
affirm  that  he  did  to  prove  it.  Have  they  done  this  ? 
They  have  not.  Their  attempts  have  been  in  every 
instance  pitiable  failures.  The  unreasonable  and 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  311 

conflicting  character  of  the  testimony  adduced 
refutes  itself.  When  was  he  converted?  No  less 
than  five  different  dates  have  been  assigned.  One 
witness  states  that  it  was  in  1848 ;  one,  that  it  was 
in  1858  ;  another,  that  it  was  in  1862 ;  another,  that 
it  was  in  July,  1863  ;  and  still  another,  that  it  was 
in  November,  1863. 

The  remarkable  character  of  the  statements  re 
corded  in  Chapter  I. — remarkable  when  compared 
with  the  statements  given  in  the  preceding  ten  chap 
ters,  and  not  less  remarkable  when  compared  with 
each  other — may  be  variously  accounted  for.  A 
part  of  them  are  based  upon  a  false  premise,  an 
erroneous  conception  of  what  the  term  Christian 
means ;  a  portion  of  them  are  merely  the  expressions 
of  beliefs  unsupported  by  actual  knowledge  ;  while 
a  not  inconsiderable  share  of  them  are  the  state 
ments  of  those  who  have  knowingly  and  deliberately 
borne  false  witness.  These  witnesses  comprise  :  1. 
Those  who  do  not  know  what  constitutes  a  Christian 
— who  confound  Christianity  with  morality — who 
affirm  that  he  was  a  Christian  simply  because  he 
was  a  moral  man.  2.  Those  who  do  not  know  what 
his  religious  views  were,  but  who  infer  that  he  was 
a  Christian  because  others  have  declared  that  he 
was,  and  because  of  the  frequent  allusions  to  Deity 
that  occur  in  his  speeches  and  state  papers.  3. 
Those  who  know  that  he  was  not  a  Christian,  but 


312  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  I 

who  believe  it  to  be  right  and  proper  to  lie  for  the 
glory  of  Christianity  and  the  profit  of  its  priests. 

The  testimony  advanced  in  support  of  the  claim  of 
Lincoln's  Christianity  is,  for  the  most  part,  the  testi 
mony  of  orthodox  Christians— a  majority  of  them 
orthodox  clergymen.  Dr.  Holland,  the  chief  of  these 
Christian  claimants,  says :  "  The  fact  is  a  matter  of 
history  that  he  never  exposed  his  own  religious  life 
to  those  who  had  no  sympathy  with  it."  This,  so 
far  as  the  later  years  of  his  life  are  concerned,  is 
substantially  true  ;  and  this  very  fact  precludes  the 
possibility  of  these  orthodox  witnesses  being  able  to 
state  from  personal  knowledge  what  his  religious 
views  were. 

In  refutation  of  this  claim,  I  have  presented  the 
testimony  of  those  who  were  nearest  to  Lincoln,  in 
the  confidential  relations  of  life.  I  have  presented 
the  testimony  of  his  wife,  the  testimony  of  his  step 
mother,  the  testimony  of  his  step-sister,  the  testi 
mony  of  his  cousin,  the  testimony  of  his  nephew, 
the  testimony  of  his  three  law  partners,  the  testi 
mony  of  four  members  of  his  Cabinet,  the  testimony 
of  his  private  secretary,  the  testimony  of  his  exec 
utor,  the  testimony  of  seven  of  his  biographers,  and 
the  testimony  of  many  more  of  his  most  intimate 
friends  both  in  Illinois  and  at  Washington. 

That  he  was  not  an  orthodox  Christian,  as  claimed, 
is  attested  by  nearly  all  of  the  one  hundred  witnesses 


WAS   HE  A  CHRISTIAN?  313 

whose  testimony  has  been  given ;  that  he  was  not  in 
any  sense  of  the  term  a  Christian  is  proved  by  the 
testimony  of  a  majority  of  them. 

I  affirmed  that  he  was  not  religious  in  his  youth — 
that  he  was  a  skeptic  in  Indiana.  In  proof  of  this  I 
have  adduced  the  testimony  of  his  step-mother, 
Sarah  Lincoln ;  his  step-sister,  Matilda  Moore  ;  his 
cousin,  Dennis  F.  Hanks  ;  his  nephew,  John  Hall ; 
his  law  partner,  W.  H.  Herndon,  and  his  biographer, 
Col.  Ward  H.  Lamon. 

I  affirmed  that  he  was  an  Infidel  or  Freethinker, 
during  the  thirty  years  that  he  resided  in  Illinois. 
In  support  of  this  I  have  given  the  testimony  of 
Colonel  Lamon,  W.  H.  Herndon,  Maj.  John  T. 
Stuart,  Col.  James  H.  Matheny,  Dr.  C.  H.  Kay,  W. 
H.  Hannah,  James  W.  Keys,  Jesse  W.  Fell,  Judge 
David  Davis,  Wm.  McNeely,  Mr.  Lynan,  Wm.  G. 
Green,  Joshua  F.  Speed,  Green  Caruthers,  Squire 
Perkins,  Judge  Gillespie,  John  Decamp,  James 
Gorley,  Dr.  "Wm.  Jayne,  Jesse  K.  Dubois,  Judge 
Logan,  Leonard  Swett,  W.  H.  T.  Wakefield,  D.  W. 
Wilder,  Dr.  B.  F.  Gardner,  J.  K.  Vandemark,  Judge 
Leachman,  Orin  B.  Gould,  Edward  Butler,  M.  S. 
Go  win,  J.  H.  Chenery,  J.  B.'Spalding,  Ezra  String- 
ham,  Col.  R,.  G.  Ingersoll,  A.  Jeffrey,  Dr.  McNeal, 
Charles  McGrew,  J.  L.  Morrell,  Judge  A.  D.  Norton, 
W.  W.  Perkins,  H.  K.  Magie,  James  Tuttle,  Leonard 
Volk,  Col.  F.  S.  Rutherford,  E.  H.  Wood,  Dr. 


314 


ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 


J.  J.  Thomson,  A.  J.  Grover,  Judge  Nelson,  and 
others. 

I  affirmed  that  he  did  not  change  his  belief  after 
leaving  Illinois — that  he  was  not  converted  to  Chris 
tianity  at  Washington — that  he  died  an  unbeliever. 
In  confirmation  of  this  I  have  presented  the  testi 
mony  of  his  wife,  Mary  Lincoln  ;  of  his  private 
secretary,  Colonel  Nicolay  ;  of  his  executor,  Judge 
Davis  ;  of  his  biographer,  Colonel  Lamon  ;  and  of  his 
intimate  associates,  Geo.  W.  Julian,  John  B.  Alley, 
Schuyler  Colfax,  Hugh  McCulloch,  A.  J.  Grover, 
Donn  Piatt,  Judge  Nelson,  and  others. 

Many  of  these  witnesses  simply  testify  to  his  dis 
belief  in  the  Christian  system  as  a  whole  without 
reference  to  his  particular  views  concerning  its  in 
dividual  tenets.  Every  statement  of  his  unbelief  as 
presented  in  the  introduction  has,  however,  been 
substantiated  by  the  testimony  of  one  or  more  wit 
nesses. 

That  he  did  not  believe  in  the  Christian  Deity, 
that  he  even  held  Agnostic  and  Atheistic  views,  at 
times,  is  proved  by  the  testimony  of  W.  H.  Herndon, 
Colonel  Matheny,  Judge  Nelson,  Jesse  K.  Dubois, 
;mdD.  W.  Wilder. 

That  he  was  an  Agnostic  in  regard  to  the  immor 
tality  of  the  soul  is  attested  by  E.  H.  Wood,  Judge 
Nelson,  and  W.  H.  Herndon. 

That  he  did  not  bejjeve  that  the  Bible  is  the  word 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  315 

of  God  is  affirmed  by  Colonel  Lamon,  John  T. 
Stuart,  Judge  Matheny,  W.  H.  Herndon,  Jesse  W. 
Fell,  Dennis  Hanks,  W.  Perkins,  Colonel  Ruther- 
ford,  and  Chambers'  Encyclopedia. 

That  he  did  not  believe  that  Jesus  Christ  was  the 
son  of  God  is  affirmed  by  Colonel  Lamon,  W.  H. 
Herndon,  Jesse  W.  Fell.  Colonel  Matheny,  John  T. 
Stuart,  Jas.  W.  Keys,  Judge  Nelson,  D.  W.  Wilder, 
Green  Caruthers,  Colonel  Rutherford,  Rev.  J.  Lloyd 
Jones,  Chambers'  Encyclopedia,  and  the  New  York 
.  World. 

- — That  he  did  not  believe  in  a  special  creation,  the 
statements  of  Mr.  Herndon  clearly  prove. 

That  he  accepted  the  theory  of  Evolution,  so  far 
as  this  theory  had  been  developed  in  the  "  Vestiges 
of  Creation "  and  other  writings  of  his  day,  is  at 
tested  by  the  same  witness. 

That  he  did  not  admit  the  possibility  of  miracles 
is  confirmed  by  the  statement  of  Jesse  W.  Fell,  W. 
Perkins,  Dennis  Hanks,  and  Mr.  Herndon. 

That  he  rejected  the  Christian  doctrine  of  total  or 
inherent  depravity,  William  McNeely  and  Jesse  W. 
Fell  affirm. 

That  he  repudiated  the  doctrine  of  vicarious  atone 
ment  is  sustained  by  the  testimony  of  Jesse  W.  Fell, 
Joshua  F.  Speed,  W.  Perkins,  and  Colonel  Lamon. 

That  he  condemned  the  doctrine  of  forgiveness  for 
sin,  General  Wilder  and  Mr.  Herndon  both  testify. 


316  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN : 

That  he  opposed  the  doctrine  of  future  rewards 
and  punishments,  Win.  H.  Hannah,  E  H.  Wood,  A. 
Jeffrey,  Jesse  W.  Fell,  and  ManforcTs  Magazine,  all 
testify. 

That  he  denied  the  freedom  of  the  will,  Mr.  Hern- 
don  explicitly  affirms. 

That  he  did  not  believe  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer  is 
fully  established  by  the  evidence  of  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
Mr.  Herndon,  and  Dr.  Gardner. 

That  he  was  a  .disciple  of  Thomas  Paine  and 
Theodore  Parker  is  shown  by  the  evidence  of  Colo 
nel  Lamon,  W.  H.  Herndon,  James  Tuttle,  Jesse  W. 
Fell,  Dr.  Bay,  Kobert  Collyer,  the  New  York  World, 
and  Chambers'  Encyclopedia. 

That  he  wrote  a  book  against  Christianity  is  sus 
tained  by  the  testimony  of  Colonel  Matheny,  Judge 
Nelson,  W.  H.  Herndon,  Colonel  Lamon,  J.  B. 
Spalding,  A.  Jeffrey,  J.  H.  Chenery,  Chicago  Herald, 
Manfords  Magazine,  and  Chambers'  Encyclopedia. 

That  Lincoln  did  not  believe  in  the  inspiration  of 
the  Scriptures,  that  he  did  not  believe  in  the  divin 
ity  of  Christ,  that  he  did  not  believe  in  the  freedom 
of  the  will,  that  he  did  not  believe  in  future  rewards 
and  punishments,  that  he  did  not  believe  in  the  effi 
cacy  of  prayer,  that  he  was,  in  short,  a  disbeliever  in 
Christianity,  is  also  attested  by  the  evidence  cited 
from  his  own  recorded  words. 

In  connection  with  this  controversy  the  signifi- 


WAS   TTR   A   CHRISTIAN?  317 

cance  of  the  following  facts  cannot  be  overlooked  : 
1.  Notwithstanding  the  strong  temptation  to  credit 
Lincoln  to  the  popular  faith,  a  majority  of  his  biog 
raphers  have  either  declared  that  he  was  not  a 
Christian,  or  have  refrained  from  affirming  that  he 
was.  2.  The  secular  press,  fearing  to  offend  the 
church,  has  generally  been  silent  regarding  the 
question.  When  it  has  ventured  to  express  an 
opinion,  however,  it  has  been  to  concede  his  un 
belief.  3.  The  leading  encyclopedias,  such  as  the 
Britannica.  Chambers',  New  American,  etc.,  have 
either  admitted  that  he  was  a  Freethinker,  or  have 
made  no  reference  to  his  religious  belief.  4.  In  the 
''Lincoln  Memorial  Album"  appear  two  hundred 
tributes  to  Lincoln,  the  greater  portion  of  them 
from  the  pens  of  Christians.  In  but  two  of  these 
two  hundred  tributes  is  it  claimed  that  Lincoln  was 
a  believer  in  Christianity.  5.  The  "  Reminiscences 
of  Lincoln  "  contain  thirty- three  articles  on  Lincoln, 
written  by  as  many  distinguished  men  who  were 
acquainted  with  him.  In  not  a  single  instance  in 
this  work,  is  it  asserted  that  he  was  a  Christian.  6. 
In  none  of  the  leading  eulogies  pronounced  upon  \ 
his  character,  at  the  time  of  his  demise,  is  it  affirmed  j 
that  he  accepted  Christ. 

It  is  stated  that  during  the  last  years  of  his  life 
Lincoln  held  substantially  the  same  theological 
opinions  held  by  Theodore  Parker.  His  own  words 


318  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

are,  referring  to  Parker :  "  I  think  that  I  stand 
about  where  that  man  stands."  Where  did  Theo 
dore  Parker  stand  ?  The  following  extracts  from 
his  writings  will  show  : 

"  To  obtain  a  knowledge  of  duty,  a  man  is  not 
sent  away,  outside  of  himself,  to  ancient  documents ; 
for  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice,  the  Word,  is 
very  nigh  him,  even  in  his  heart,  and  by  this  Word 
he  is  to  try  all  documents." 

"  There  is  no  intercessor,  angel,  mediator,  between 
man  and  God  ;  for  man  can  speak  and  God  hear, 
each  for  himself.  He  requires  no  advocates  to  plead 
for  men." 

"  Manly,  natural  religion — it  is  not  joining  the 
church  ;  it  is  not  to  believe  in  a  creed — Hebrew, 
Christian,  Catholic,  Protestant,  Trinitarian,  Uni 
tarian,  Nothingarian.  It  is  not  to  keep  Sunday 
idle  ;  to  attend  meeting ;  to  be  wet  with  water  ;  to 
read  the  Bible ;  to  offer  prayers  in  words ;  to  take 
bread  and  wine  in  the  meeting-house ;  love  a  scape 
goat  Jesus,  or  any  other  theological  claptrap." 

If  Lincoln  was  known  to  be  a  Freethinker,  it  may 
be  asked  why  this  fact  was  not  more  generally  pub 
lished  and  urged  against  him  during  the  Presidential 
campaign  of  1860.  The  answer  is  easy.  His  chief 
opponent,  Douglas,  was  himself  a  Freethinker. 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  like  Abraham  Lincoln,  died  an 
/  unbeliever.  Like  Washington,  he  declined  the  serv- 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  319 

ices  of  a  clergyman  in  his  last  hours.  The  follow 
ing  is  an  extract  from  a  monograph  on  "The 
Deathbed  of  Douglas,"  published  in  the  Boston 
Budget  : 

"  When  Stephen  A.  Douglas  lay  stricken  with 
death  at  Chicago,  his  wife,  who  was  a  devout  Roman 
Catholic,  sent  for  Bishop  Duggan,  who  asked 
whether  he  had  ever  been  baptized  according  to  the 
rites  of  any  church.  '  Never,'  replied  Mr.  Douglas. 
'  Do  you  desire  to  have  mass  said  after  the  ordi 
nances  of  the  holy  Catholic  church  ?'  inquired  the 
Bishop.  '  No,  sir  !'  answered  Douglas  ;  *  when  I  do 
I  will  communicate  with  you  freely.' 

"  The  Bishop  withdrew,  but  the  next  day  Mrs. 
Douglas  sent  for  him  again,  and,  going  to  the  bed 
side,  he  said  :  '  Mr.  Douglas,  you  know  your  own 
condition  fully,  and  in  view  of  your  dissolution  do 
you  desire  the  ceremony  of  extreme  unction  to  be 
performed?'  'No!'  replied  the  dying  man,  'I  have 
no  time  to  discuss  these  things  now.' 

fi  The  Bishop  left  the  room,  and  Mr.  Rhodes,  who 
was  in  attendance,  said  :  '  Do  you  know  the  clergy 
men  of  this  city?'  'Nearly  every  one  of  them.' 
'  Do  you  wish  to  have  either  or  any  of  them  call  to 
see  you  to  converse  on  religious  topics  ?'  '  No,  I 
thank  you,'  was  the  decided  answer." 

Among  America's  most  eminent  statesmen  none 
probably  ever  possessed  a  more  logical  mind  than 


320  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

Lincoln.     Judge  Davis  says  :     "  His  mind  was  logical 

and  direct."     James  G.  Elaine  says  :     "  His  logic  was 

|  severe  and  faultless."      George  S.    Boutwell   says : 

•  "  He  takes  rank  witli  the  first  logicians  and  orators 

\of  every  age."     In  his  funeral  oration  at  Springfield, 

Bishop  Simpson  said  : 

"  If  you  ask  me  on  what  mental  characteristic  his 
greatness  rested,  I  answer,  on  a  quick  and  ready 
perception  of  facts ;  on  a  memory  unusually  tenacious 
and  retentive  ;  and  on  a  logical  turn  of  mind,  which 
followed  sternly  and  unwaveringly  every  link  in  the 
chain  of  thought  on  every  subject  he  was  called  to 
investigate." 

Lincoln  was  once  called  to  investigate  the  subject 
of  Christianity.  He  "followed  sternly  and  unwaver 
ingly  every  link  in  the  chain  of  thought  "  suggested 
by  this  subject,  and  the  result  was  its  rejection  by 
him. 

If  he  was  subsequently  converted  to  Christianity, 
it  was  only  after  a  reexamination  and  a  thorough  and 
exhaustive  investigation  of  its  claims.  This  his 
friends  positively  state  never  took  place,  and  the 
circumstances  associated  with  each  and  every  period 
assigned  for  his  reputed  conversion  confirm  their 
statements.  In  1848  he  was  a  member  of  Congress, 
his  mind  absorbed  with  the  novelties,  the  duties,  and 
the  aspirations  that  usually  attend  a  first  term  in 
this  important  capacity.  In  1858,  and  for  years  pre- 


WAS  HE  A   CHRISTIAN?  321 

ceding  and  following,  the  great  political  questions  of 
the  day  occupied  his  mind.  He  was  engaged  in  a 
mortal  struggle  with  one  of  the  most  powerful  intel 
lectual  athletes  of  his  time.  He  was  contending  with 
Douglas  for  a  prize,  and  that  prize  was  the  Presi 
dency.  He  must  be  ever  on  the  alert.  He  must 
crush  his  antagonist  or  his  antagonist  would  crush 
him.  Think  of  Lincoln  sitting  down  in  the  very 
crisis  of  this  conflict  and  engaging  in  the  study  of 
theology !  In  1862,  and  1863,  the  other  years  as 
signed  for  his  conversion,  he  was  in  the  midst  of  the 
great  Rebellion,  all  his  thoughts  and  all  his  energies 
enlisted  in  the  mighty  task  of  saving  the  Union. 

That  Lincoln  was  a  Freethinker  in  Illinois,  that 
he  was  for  a  time  a  zealous  propagandist  of  his  faith, 
that  he  was  instrumental  in  making  unbelievers  of 
many  of  his  associates,  it  is  useless  to  deny.  If  he 
was  afterward  converted  to  Christianity,  his  friends 
were  ignorant  of  his  conversion.  He  failed  to  notify 
them  of  his  previous  mistake  and  warn  them  of  their 
impending  danger.  If  it  could  be  shown  that  he  re 
nounced  his  former  views  and  became  a  Christian, 
this  fact  would  be  one  of  the  most  damaging  argu 
ments  against  Christianity  that  could  be  advanced. 
As  a  Freethinker  he  was  one  of  the  most  tender  and 
humane  of  men,  ever  solicitous  for  the  welfare  of  his 
fellow-beings.  Did  Christianity  transform  him  into 
a  selfish,  heartless  being,  who  coolly  disregarded 


322  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  : 

even  the  eternal  welfare  of  his  best  and  dearest 
friends  ?  Think  of  a  man  directing  a  friend  to  take 
a  road  which  he  afterward  discovers  leads  to  certain 
death,  and  then  not  lifting  a  finger  of  warning  to  save 
him  from  destruction,  when  it  is  in  his  power  to  do 
so! 

The  Freethinker  will  require  no  other  evidence  to 
convince  him  that  Lincoln  died  a  disbeliever  than 
the  fact  that  he  once  fully  investigated  this  subject 
and  proclaimed  himself  an  Infidel.  The  mere  skep 
tic  who  has  no  settled  convictions — who  has  never 
examined  the  evidences  against  historical  Christian 
ity — may  become  a  sincere  believer  in  the  Christian 
religion.  The  confirmed  Freethinker  never  can, 
albeit  a  Thomas  Cooper,  a  Joseph  Barker  and  a 
George  Chainey  may  profess  to.  As  Col.  Thomas 
Wentworth  Higginson  happily  expresses  it :  "  You 
may  take  the  robin's  egg  from  the  nest  in  yonder 
tree,  and  so  near  is  the  bird  to  being  hatched  you 
may  crack  it  with  the  edge  of  your  nail,  and  the  bird 
is  free.  But  all  your  power,  and  all  your  patient 
fidelity,  and  all  the  mucilage  and  sticking  plaster  you 
can  put  on  it,  will  never  get  that  birdling  back  into 
that  little  egg  again.  So  complete  is  the  sense  of 
satisfaction,  such  is  the  feeling  of  freedom,  which 
comes  from  once  finding  yourself,  not  merely  out  of 
these  little  sectarian  names,  but  out  of  the  name  of 
the  larger  and  grander  sect,  which  is  Christianity, 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  323 

that  you  will  find  when  the  egg  is  once  broken,  the 
bird  is  free  forever." 

From  the  church  steward's  standpoint,  there  is 
nothing  so  desirable  as  the  early  conversion  of  one 
who  is  destined  to  become  rich.  From  the  evangel 
ist's  point  of  view,  there  is  nothing  like  the  death 
bed  repentance  of  one  who  has  become  great.  Had 
the  bullet  of  the  assassin  not  immediately  destroyed 
consciousness,  all  these  stories  that  we  have  heard 
about  Lincoln's  conversion — the  Edwards  story,  the 
Smith  story,  the  Brooks  story,  the  Willets  story,  the 
Vinton  story,  and  the  story  of  the  Illinois  clergyman 
— would  never  have  been  invented.  Instead  of  these 
we  would  have  the  story  of  some  domestic,  or  some 
intruding  priest  who  saw  him  during  his  dying 
hours.  Aaron  Burr  was  kinder  to  the  church  than 
John  Wilkes  Booth. 

But  whatever  the  religious  opinions  of  Lincoln 
were  when  he  died,  whether  he  had  changed  his  be 
lief  or  not,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  never  thought 
enough  of  the  church  to  unite  with  it,  the  frantic 
efforts  of  clergymen  and  church-members  to  claim 
him  seem  quite  uncalled  for,  if  not  ridiculous. 

The  opinion  of  a  writer  previously  quoted  in  this 
work,  is  that  the  bitter  war  waged  against  the  per 
sons  who  have  declared  that  Lincoln  was  not  a 
Christian  arises,  not  from  a  belief  that  they  have 
stated  what  is  false,  but  from  a  consciousness  that 


324  ABRAHAM     LINCOLN  : 


have  "  demolished  an  empty  shrine  that  was 
profitable  to  many,  and  broken  a  painted  idol  thai 
might  have  served  for  a  god."  It  is  strange  ho^sv 
Christians  tend  toward  fetichism.  Not  satisfied  with 
three  Gods,  they  must  canonize  and  deify  men  and 
make  saints  and  demi-gods.  They  have  alreadj 
deified  three  Americans  —  Washington,  Grant,  and 
Lincoln  —  and  what  is  remarkable,  in  each  instance 
they  have  selected  an  unbeliever  —  an  Infidel.  It  i? 
said  that  men  have  stolen  the  livery  of  heaven  ii] 
which  to  serve  the  devil  ;  but  it  seems  hardly  con 
sistent  with  the  pretensions  of  the  church  that  she 
should  be  compelled  to  appropriate  the  beadroll  oi 
Infidelity  in  order  to  make  her  appear  respectable. 

Lincoln's  speeches  and  state  papers  contain  many 
allusions  to  Deity.  As  Colonel  Lamon  observes, 
"  These  were  easy,  and  not  inconsistent  with  his  re 
ligious  notions."  But  it  is  a  mistake  to  attribute  all 
the  Deistic  expressions  that  appear  in  his  state 
papers  to  him.  Just  how  much  of  this  was  the  work 
of  his  private  secretaries,  how  much  of  it  was 
"  Seward's  nonsense,"  or  how  much  of  it  was 
suggested  by  Chase  and  other  Cabinet  ministers,  can 
never  be  determined.  It  is  significant,  however, 
that  in  those  documents  of  least  importance,  those 
which  he  would  most  likely  leave  to  his  secretaries 
or  other  officials  to  draft,  these  expressions  are 
chiefly  to  be  found.  In  his  debates  with  Douglas, 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  325 

and  his  other  great  political  speeches  delivered  in 
Illinois,  he  seldom  refers  to  Deity.  In  his  carefully 
prepared  Cooper  Institute  address,  that  model  of 
political  addresses,  the  name  of  Deity  does  not  once 
occur.  In  his  First  Inaugural  Address,  he  refers  to 
God,  and  makes  a  complimentary  reference  to  Chris 
tianity  intended  to  conciliate  the  church  and  gain  for 
his  administration  its  support  in  the  coming  struggle 
with  the  South.  One  paragraph  of  the  second  In 
augural  contains  allusions  to  Deity  and  quotations 
from  the  Bible ;  but  in  this  address  he  makes  no 
recognition  of  Christ  or  Christianity.  Even  his 
quotations  from  the  Bible  are  made  in  a  guarded 
manner  which  clearly  indicates  that  he  did  not  be 
lieve  in  its  divinity.  In  the  Preliminary  Proclama 
tion  of  Emancipation,  which  was  drafted  by  himself, 
the  name  of  Deit}T  does  not  appear.  In  the  final 
Proclamation,  an  acknowledgment  of  God  was  in 
serted  only  at  the  urgent  request  of  Secretary  Chase. 
The  Emancipation  Proclamation,  with  the  possible 
exception  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and 
the  ^Constitution  of  the  United  States,  is  the  most 
important  political  document  ever  issued  in 
America.  He  knew  that  this  was  the  crowning  act 
of  his  career,  that  it  would  place  him  among  the  im 
mortals.  In  the  preparation  of  this  work  he  ex 
pended  much  thought  and  labor,  and  it  was  his  desire 
that  it  should  be  free  from  religious  verbiage.  In 


326  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN: 

that  masterpiece  of  eloquence,  the  Gettysburg 
oration,  the  name  of  God  occurs  but  once,  while  not 
the  remotest  reference  to  Christianity  or  even  im 
mortality  appears.  When  we  take  into  consideration 
the  fact  that  this  address  was  made  at  the  dedication 
of  a  cemetery,  the  significance  of  this  omission  can 
not  be  overlooked,  This  speech  was  the  product  o:' 
Lincoln's  own  mind  free  from  the  suggestions  am. 
emendations  of  others,  and  the  occasion  was  too 
sacred  to  indulge  in  pious  cant  in  which  he  did  nor, 
believe. 

The  clergy  parade  Lincoln's  recognitions  of  ji, 
Supreme  Being  as  a  triumphant  refutation  of  the 
claim  that  he  was  an  Infidel.  Yet,  at  the  same  time, 
they  do  not  hesitate  to  denounce  as  Infidels,  Paine 
and  "Voltaire,  when  they  know,  or  ought  to  know, 
that  two  more  profound  and  reverential  believers  in 
God  never  lived  and  wrote  than  Paine  and  Voltaire. 

If  Infidelity  and  Atheism  were  synonymous  terms 
it  would  be  difficult  to  maintain  that  Lincoln,  dur 
ing  the  last  years  of  his  life  at  least,  was  an  Infidel. 
But  Infidelity  and  Atheism  are  not  synonymous 
terms.  An  Atheist  is  an  Infidel,  but  an  Infidel  is 
not  necessarily  an  Atheist.  A  Presbyterian  is  a 
Christian,  but  all  Christians  are  not  Presbyterians. 
Christians  themselves  coined  the  word  Infidel,  and 
they  have  used  it  to  denote  a  disbeliever  in  Chris 
tianity.  A  disbelief  or  denial  of  Christianity  is  not 


WAS    HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  327 

necessarily  a  denial  of  God.  Christians,  many  of 
them,  regard  the  term  as  odious  and  as  carrying 
with  it  the  idea  of  immorality,  notwithstanding  the 
most  intelligent  and  the  most  highly  moral  class  in 
Christendom  are  these  so-called  Infidels.  "  Who  are 
to-day's  Infidels '?"  says  the  Rev.  William  Channiug 
Gannett.  He  answers  :  "  Very  many  of  the  bright 
est  minds,  the  warmest  hearts,  the  most  loyal  con 
sciences,  the  most  zealous  seekers  after  God,  the 
most  honest  tellers  of  what  they  find — yes,  and  the 
most  successful  finders.  Infidels  to  what  are  they  ? 
Not  to  morality  :  Infidels  to  morality  are  too  wise  to 
train  with  them." 

It  is  not  claimed  that  Lincoln  was  wholly  free 
from  a  belief  in  the  supernatural.  He  possessed  in 
some  respects  a  simple,  childlike  nature,  and  carried 
with  him  through  life  some  of  the  superstitions  of 
childhood.  But  the  dogmas  of  Christianity  were 
not  among  them ;  these  he  had  examined  and  dis 
carded. 

As  a  proof  of  Lincoln's  regard  for  Christian  insti 
tutions,  great  prominence  is  given  to  his  proclama 
tion  to  the  army  enjoining  the  observance  of  the 
Sabbath.  This  document  gives  expression  to  senti 
ments  regarding  the  sanctity  of  the  Christian  Sab 
bath  that  Lincoln  personally  did  not  entertain.  It 
was  issued  to  appease  the  clamor  of  the  clergy  who 
demanded  it,  and  was  drafted,  not  by  Lincoln,  but 


328  ABRAHAM    LINCOLN  *. 

by  some  pious  Sabbatarian.  Lincoln  himself  at 
tached  no  more  sanctity  to  Sunday  than  to  other 
days.  He  worked  on  Sunday  himself.  In  Spring 
field  his  Sundays  were  frequently  spent  in  preparing 
cases  for  court.  In  company  with  his  boys  he  often 
passed  the  entire  day  making  excursions  into  the 
country  or  rambling  through  the  woods  that  skirted 
the  Sangamon.  He  seldom  went  to  church  either 
in  Springfield  or  Washington,  the  claims  of  some  of 
his  Christian  biographers  to  the  contrary  notwith 
standing.  Previous  to  his  nomination,  in  1860,  we 
find  him  sitting  for  a  bust  on  Sunday  in  preference 
to  attending  church.  On  the  Sunday  immediately 
following  his  nomination  an  artist  was  busy  with  him 
molding  his  hands  and  taking  negatives  for  a  statue. 
The  draft  of  the  preliminary  Proclamation  of 
Emancipation  was  finished  on  Sunday.  The  last 
Sunday  of  his  life  was  spent,  not  in  studying  the 
Scriptures,  but  in  reading  his  beloved  Shakespere. 

It  was  stated  by  friends  of  Lincoln  that  he  gener 
ally  refrained  from  giving  publicity  to  his  religious 
opinions  while  in  public  life  because  of  their  unpop 
ularity.  In  answer  to  this  the  Christian  claimant 
retorts  :  "  If  this  be  true  then  he  was  a  hypocrite." 
But  let  us  be  honest.  Nearly  every  person  enter 
tains  opinions  which  he  does  not  deem  it  discreet  or 
necessary  to  make  public.  You,  my  Christian  friend, 
entertain  doubts  and  heresies  concerning  your  creed 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  329 

which  you  keep  a  secret  or  disclose  only  to  your 
most  intimate  associates.  If  you,  in  private  life,  and 
not  dependent  upon  the  public,  hide  your  unpopular 
thoughts  from  the  world,  can  you  consistently  blame 
Lincoln  for  his  silence  when  the  fate  of  a  nation 
depended  upon  him  and  the  alienation  even  of  a  few 
bigots  might  turn  the  scales  against  him  ?  A  Chris 
tian  general  does  not  hesitate  to  deceive  the  enemy 
or  withhold  his  plans  even  from  his  own  soldiers. 
Again,  the  clergy  are  forever  advising  and  entreating 
men  not  to  publish  their  doubts  and  heresies.  Is  it 
consistent  in  them  to  condemn  a  man  for  following 
their  advice  ? 

The  church  should  learn  to  respect  honesty  her 
self  before  she  charges  others  with  dishonesty.  It 
is  the  shame  of  Christianity  that  men  have  been 
obliged  to  conceal  their  honest  convictions  in  order 
to  escape  ostracism  and  persecution.  When  the 
church  herself  becomes  honest  enough  to  tolerate 
and  respect  the  honest  opinions  of  those  who  cannot 
conscientiously  accept  her  creed,  then  will  it  be  time 
for  her  to  charge  Lincoln  with  hypocrisy  for  having 
partially  withheld  his  unpopular  views  from  religious 
ruffians.  It  does  not  evince  a  want  of  honesty,  nor 
even  a  lack  of  moral  courage,  to  flee  from  a  tiger  or 
avoid  a  skunk. 

To  do  good  was  Lincoln's  religion.  To  live  an 
honest,  manly  life — to  add  to  the  sum  of  human 


3dU/  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN: 

happiness — to  make  the  world  better  for  his  having 
lived — this  was  the  aspiration  of  his  life  and  tlm 
essence  of  his  faith. 

In  youth,  the  meanest  creature  found  in  him  a 
friend,  and  if  need  be,  a  defender.  He  wrote  essays 
and  made  speeches  against  cruelty  to  animals,  and 
sought  to  impress  upon  his  playmates'  minds  the 
sacredness  of  life.  The  same  tender  regard  for  the 
weak  and  unfortunate  characterized  his  manhood. 
Whilst  riding  through  a  forest  once  with  a  party  of 
friends,  he  saw  a  brood  of  young  birds  on  the  ground 
which  a  storm  had  blown  from  their  nest.  He  dis 
mounted  from  his  horse,  and  after  a  laborious 
search,  found  the  nest  and  placed  the  birdlings 
snugly  in  their  little  home.  When  he  reached  his 
companions,  and  was  eluded  by  them  for  his  delay, 
he  said :  "  I  could  not  have  slept  to-night  if  I  had 
not  given  those  birds  to  their  mother." 

The  narration  of  his  many  deeds  of  kindness  and 
mercy  while  at  Washington  would  fill  a  volume.  He 
loved  to  rescue  an  erring  soldier  boy  from  the  jaws 
of  death  and  fill  a  mother's  eyes  with  tears  of  joy. 
He  loved  to  dispel  the  clouds  of  sorrow  from  a  wife's 
sad  heart  and  warm  it  with  the  sunshine  of  happi 
ness.  He  loved  to  take  the  child  of  poverty  upon 
his  knee  and  plant  within  its  little  breast  the  seeds 
of  confidence  and  hope. 

A  giant  in  stature,  and  a  lion   in   strength  and 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  331 

courage,  he  possessed  the  gentleness  of  a  child  and 
the  tenderness  of  a  woman.  The  sufferings,  even  of 
a  stranger,  would  fill  his  eyes  with  tears,  and  the 
death  of  a  friend  would  overwhelm  him.  In  his 
tenth  year  his  mother  died,  and  for  a  time  his  heart 
was  desolate  and  he  could  not  be  consoled.  In  his 
fifteenth  year  his  only  sister,  a  lovely,  fragile  flower, 
just  blooming  into  womanhood,  drooped  and  died, 
and  life  seemed  purposeless  to  him  again.  Of  his 
four  children,  two  died  while  he  was  living — Eddie, 
a  fair-haired  babe,  and  his  beloved  Willie.  When 
death  took  these  his  sorrow  was  unutterable.  The 
untimely  death  of  his  young  friend,  the  gallant  Colo 
nel  Ellsworth,  at  Alexandria,  and  the  death  of  his 
life-long  friend,  the  lamented  Edwin  F.  Baker,  at 
Ball's  Bluff,  were  blows  that  staggered  him.  At  the 
death  of  his  good  friend,  Bowlin  Green,  he  was 
chosen  to  deliver  a  funeral  address.  When  the  hour 
arrived,  and  he  stepped  forward  to  perform  the 
sacred  task,  his  eyes  fell  upon  the  coffin  of  his  dead 
friend  and  for  a  time  he  stood  transfixed — helpless 
and  speechless.  The  only  tribute  he  could  pay  was 
the  tribute  of  his  tears.  When  he  turned  for  the 
last  time  from  the  bedside  of  the  beautiful  Ann  Kut- 
ledge,  his  betrothed,  it  was  with  a  broken  heart  and 
a  mind  dethroned.  "  Oh  !  I  can  never  be  reconciled 
to  have  the  snow,  the  rain,  and  the  storm  beat  upon 
her  grave,"  was  the  pitiful  burden  of  his  plaint  for 


332  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  I 

weeks.  Reason  after  a  time  returned,  but  his  wonted 
gladness  never ;  and  down  through  all  those  event 
ful  years  to  that  fatal  April  night  when  his  own 
sweet  life-blood  slowly  oozed  away,  beneath  that 
sparkling  surface  of  feigned  mirth,  drifted  the  mem 
ory  and  the  agonies  of  that  great  grief. 

In  the  social  relations  of  life,  he  was  a  most  exem 
plary  man.  He  was  a  devoted  husband,  an  indulgent 
father,  an  obliging  neighbor,  and  a  faithful  friend. 
Mrs.  Colonel  Chapman,  a  lady  who  lived  for  a  time 
in  his  family,  pays  this  tribute  to  his  private  life  : 
"  He  was  all  that  a  husband,  father,  and  neighbor 
should  be,  kind  and  affectionate  to  his  wife  and  child, 
and  very  pleasant  to  all  around  him.  Never  did  I 
hear  him  utter  an  unkind  word."  "  His  devotion  to 
wife  and  children,"  says  George  W.  Julian,  "  was  as 
abiding  and  unbounded  as  his  love  of  country." 
The  strong  attachment  always  manifested  by  him 
for  his  friends  has  often  been  remarked.  Rich  and 
poor,  great  and  humble,  all  were  equally  dear  to  him 
and  alike  the  recipients  of  his  regard  and  love.  The 
(prince  he  treated  like  a  man,  the  humblest  man  he 
•  treated  like  a  prince.  Nothing  in  his  career  exhibits 
the  greatness  and  nobleness  of  his  character  in  a 
loftier  degree  than  the  cordial  and  unaffected  manner 
in  which,  at  Washington,  in  the  midst  of  wealth,  and 
splendor,  and  refinement,  he  was  accustomed  to 


WAS   HE   A  CHRISTIAN?  333 

receive  and  entertain  the  plain,  uncultured  friends  of 
other  days. 

Upon  his  rugged  honesty,  I  need  not  dwell.  The 
sobriquet  of  "  Honest  Abe  "  was  early  won  by  him 
and  never  lost.  In  his  profession — a  profession  in 
which,  too  often,  cunning  and  deceit,  falsehood  and 
dishonesty,  are  the  means,  and  robbery  the  end — a 
profession  in  which,  too  often,  Injustice  is  a  purpled 
Dives  sitting  at  a  bounteous  board,  and  Justice,  a 
ragged  Lazarus  lying  at  the  gate — he  never  wavered 
in  his  loyalty  to  truth,  to  justice,  and  to  honesty. 
Engaged  in  a  just  cause,  he  was  one  of  the  most 
powerful  advocates  that  ever  addressed  a  judge  or 
jury  ;  engaged  in  an  unjust  cause,  he  was  the  weakest 
member  of  his  bar.  In  fact,  he  could  not  be  in 
duced  to  plead  a  cause  in  which  he  did  not  see  some 
element  of  justice,  even  though  the  technicalities  of 
law  insured  success.  To  one  who  had  sought  his 
services  and  had  stated  his  case,  he  replied  :  "  Yes, 
I  can  win  it ;  but  there  are  some  things  legally  right 
that  are  not  morally  right;  this  is  one:  I  cannot 
take  your  case."  He  was  once  employed  to  defend 
a  person  accused  of  murder.  As  the  trial  pro 
gressed,  it  became  apparent  to  him  that  his  client 
had  done  the  deed.  Turning  to  his  associate 
counsel,  with  a  look  of  disappointment  and  pain,  he 
said  :  "  Swett,  the  man  is  guilty  ;  you  defend  him  ;  I 
cannot."  On  another  occasion,  when  he  discovered 


334  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN: 

that  his  client  had  grossly  imposed  upon  his  con 
fidence  and  instituted  an  unjust  suit,  he  left  the 
court-room,  and  when  the  bailiff  called  for  him,  lie 
answered  :  "  Tell  Judge  Treat  that  I  can't  come ;  / 
have  to  wash  my  hands." 

He  was  the  most  magnanimous  of  men.  William 
H.  Seward,  his  chief  opponent  for  the  Presidential 
nomination,  he  made  the  Premier  of  his  Cabinet. 
Secretary  Chase  became  his  political,  if  not  his  per 
sonal,  enemy.  Yet,  recognizing  his  fitness  for  the 
place,  he  waived  all  personal  grievances  and  ap 
pointed  him  to  the  exalted  position  of  Chief  Justice 
of  the  United  States,  the  highest  gift  within  the 
power  of  a  President  to  bestow.  During  his  profes 
sional  career  he  was  sent  to  Cincinnati  to  assist 
Edwin  M.  Stanton  in  an  important  legal  case.  The 
grim  Stanton  had  never  met  this  plain,  Western 
lawyer  before,  and  displeased  at  his  uncouth  appear 
ance,  and  apparent  lack  of  ability,  treated  him  so 
discourteously  that  Lincoln's  self-respect  compelled 
him  to  practically  withdraw  from  the  case.  It  was 
a  brutal  affront,  too  poignant  for  him  ever  to  forget, 
but  not  to  forgive,  and  linked  together  on  one  of  the 
most  momentous  pages  of  history  stand  the  names 
of  Lincoln  and  Stanton,  an  enduring  witness  to  his 
sublime  magnanimity. 

The  murder  of  this  loving  savior  of  our  Union  was 
a  disastrous  blow,  not  to  the  victorious  North  alone, 


WAS   HE   A   CHRISTIAN?  335 

but  to  the  vanquished  South  as  well.  Could  he  have 
lived,  the  balm  of  his  great,  kindly  nature  would  have 
quickly  healed  the  nation's  wounds.  At  the  com 
mencement  of  the  conflict,  in  pleading  tones,  he  said  : 
"We  are  not  enemies,  but  friends."  And  at  its 
close,  notwithstanding  all  the  cruel,  bitter  anguish 
he  had  endured  during  those  four  long  years  of 
fratricidal  strife,  "  With  malice  toward  none,  with 
charity  for  all,"  he  died,  and  many  a  brave  Confed 
erate  deplored 

The  deep  damnation  of  his  taking  off. 

When  Stonewall  Jackson  died,  he  paid  a  touching 
tribute  to  his  gallantry,  and  said  :  "  Let  us  forget 
his  errors  over  his  fresh-made  grave."  in  the  dark- 
Tiess  of  night,  on  a  bloody  field  of  the  Peninsula,  he 
bent  beside  the  prostrate  form  of  a  dying  soldier  of 
the  South,  and  while  the  hot  tears  rolled  down  his 
furrowed  cheeks,  soothed  him  with  words  of  tender- 
est  sympathy,  and,  by  the  dim  rays  of  a  lantern,  took 
down  from  his  lips  a  message  to  his  mother,  and 
sent  it  by  a  flag  of  truce  into  the  enemies'  lines  to  be 
transmitted  to  his  home. 

Glorious  apostle  of  humanity  !  When  shall  we 
look  upon  his  like  again  ?  so  honest,  so  truthful,  so 
just,  so  charitable,  so  loving,  so  merciful !  Law 
was  his  God,  justice  his  creed,  and  liberty  his 
heaven.  If  he  sinned,  mercy  prompted  him.  In 
the  presence  of  such  a  man,  and  in  the  presence  of 


336  ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  : 

such  a  religion,  how  contemptible  your  puny  theo 
logians  and  their  narrow  creeds  appear  !  Born 
in  the  cabin  of  a  Western  wild,  dying  in  a  na 
tion's  capital,  its  honored  chief,  enshrined  in  the 
hearts  of  an  admiring  world,  Abraham  Lincoln  stands 
to-day  the  gentlest,  purest,  noblest  character  in  hu 
man  history.  Millenniums  may  pass  away,  unnum 
bered  generations  come  and  go,  creeds  rise  and 
fall  ;  but  the  divine  faith  of  Freedom's  martyr  —  a 
faith  based  upon  immutable  law,  eternal  justice,  uni 
versal  liberty  —  a  faith  formulated  not  in  perishable 
words,  but  in  immortal  deeds,  will  live  through  all 
the  years  to  come,  a  torch  of  hope  to  every  son  of 
toil. 


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